Soledad
by Thunk
Summary: (Complete) A Sango and Sesshoumaru love story.
1. Landing in Hell

**This story IS self-contained, even though it's the second in a series. For those of you who haven't read BESO, let me get you up to speed. During the final battle with Naraku, Kikyo tried to enchant the Shikon no Tama, but failed. As a result, it sucked both Sango AND Sesshoumaru into its inner realm, locking them in. How did that happen? Read on. It's paraphrased through Sango's POV below. Ah. Quick note. I like to think of this as a love story. Not a romance. Keep that in mind, or you may get sexually frustrated.**

**SOLEDAD  
**(so-lay-dahd solitude/loneliness) 

**_Landing in Hell_**

* * *

It was too late. That which she'd lived solely to prevent, had happened. 

Kohaku was dead.

The fine threading that held Sango's sanity in place, fragmented. The battlefield before her eyes, faded. She was vaguely aware of her brother's corpse as she rose, but even _that_ bled into the background as she homed in on her prey. Her sight narrowed until it only saw the bobbing humanoid head with a hundred youkai appendages.

An abomination. A mockery. The bane of her existence...

_Naraku._

Her vision turned black.

Her hearing, defeaned.

Her touch, numbed….

…until the only thing she was aware of was her own blood as it roared in her ears. Every other sensation blurred into some unholy, demented oblivion as she was consumed by something utterly dark. Powerful. Destructive.

There was no explanation for her following surge of strength. There were no words to describe it. But her human reasoning, physical limitations, _fear_…all withered under the hot blaze of someone who'd snapped. Lost it. Gone berserk…

…and had the capacity to back it up.

The devil himself would have run from her attack, but Naraku wasn't half as bright. He stayed. In the chaos of her following rampage, she remembered with sick satisfaction the rubbery sound of Naraku's youkai flesh, as it was ripped in half by Hiraikotsu.

She remembered laughing at his pathetic rebound assault - lancing bolts of hatred that scorched the earth where they touched - easier to dodge than an angry kitten. She remembered a blur of ornate garb and shimmering white hair.

_Hn. The dog demon, Sesshoumaru._ Trying to steal her victory, no doubt. Lucky for him, he dislodged the Shikon no Tama from Naraku's abdomen, distracting her from his insolent intrusion. There was something about it. A dim remnant of her former self flickered, recalling that the ball needed to be retrieved. That something bigger, more important was going on here. Reflex made her step away from the assault to catch it.

And catch it she did.

There was a desperate cry not to touch it. A strong hand on her wrist. Claws that pierced her skin. But it was too late. The Shikon no Tama in her fist yanked her… No, _them_ …out of this world, without adornment or apology.

Next thing she knew, everything was spinning. A booming hollow sound fell on her inner ear, more deafening than thunder, yet emptier than silence. Her skin, her bones liquefied, and she ebbed through a tunnel of swirling gray gases like spilled milk.

And through it all, that hand, still on her wrist... It was the only solid sensation she felt. And it burned. She tried to pull away, but it tightened, followed by words. Angry words, filled with loathing and bitterness that scorched her awareness.

_You fool! If you break away, we both die!_

He was panicked...urgent, and so she endured it. Moments later, they were unceremoniously dumped on top of something spongy. Porous. And when her eyes re-solidified, Sango saw that she was on a ledge of some never-ending cavern. A living nightmare.

If there was a ceiling, it was swallowed up by a black, roiling nothingness that swirled up above like an angry storm cloud. If there was a floor, it was buried underneath a gaping chasm. A bottomless pit.

But there _was_ life. Apparition-like creatures blitzed about in the open space, hissing and spitting at each other like rabid felines. Sango tried to back up, but her body was sluggish. She looked down to notice that her skin had an opalescent hue to it. Almost a shimmer, as though she were still stuck somewhere between reality and dream.

Suddenly, she was jerked up by her one wrist, and dangled in the air like an insolent pup until she was brought face to face with the dog demon.

Rage still coursed through Sango's veins from Kohaku's death, only slightly alleviated by the confusion of this insane circumstance. Hence, she didn't see death incarnate when she looked at Sesshoumaru's unnaturally beautiful face. She didn't see someone to fear, or someone whose power demanded respect.

Instead, she saw the individual who had interfered. Who had tried to steal her victory. Who had somehow snatched her from her own realm and dropped her _here_. She met his scowl with an unwavering one of her own.

"You touched it," he seethed, and flung her back. "I told you not to!"

In her current state of mind, Sango's inevitable response to his aggression was to retaliate, and Hiraikotsu was unhitched and swinging before Sesshoumaru knew it was coming. The broadside of the boomerang caught him in the face, pitching him headlong over the ledge. Were it not for a desperate reach for the outcropping and tenacious hold, he would have fallen into oblivion.

"You twisted, enigmatic bastard!" Sango hissed as his claws dug into the ground for purchase. "You thwarted my chance to avenge my brother! And brought me HERE!"

He growled in response, a low baritone rumbling and flipped forward, landing in a crouch. Suddenly, the ever-composed youkai looked feral. The streaks on his face had darkened, and his eyes glowed crimson. His cheek was maroon with swelling from where she'd clobbered him, and his lip curled in a nasty snarl.

Subliminal alarms waved off in her head, and the next thing she knew, he'd caged her against the rough texture of the wall, his claws piercing the skin of her neck.

"_YOU_ did this, human!" he spat, his weight smashing her. "You tainted a half-enchanted Shikon no Tama with your touch, sealing all its powers inside!" he yelled, his lips quivering over a hundred unvoiced threats. "Sealing _us_ inside!"

_Inside the Shikon no Tama?_ Sango would have struggled, but her righteous indignation chose this particular moment to let her fend for herself, and clarity returned in all its ruthless honesty. Her first impression, as her wits gathered, was wonderment that Sesshoumaru had more than one expression.

Her second impression was dread. Her third fear.

_Oh, no…_

With a menacing huff, the dog demon slammed his fist into the wall next to her, imbedding it up to his wrist. The sound of crunching matter ricocheted all the way down to her toes, and she gulped against his palm on her throat.

"I'd kill you," he said lowly, and with obvious reluctance released her and took a step back. His expression reverted back into practiced reticence, and Sango couldn't tell which look unnerved her more - the angry one or the blank one.

"…but our combined presence locked this realm. It'll take both to open it back up again…if there is, in fact, a way out."

Sango rubbed her neck from where he'd grabbed her, more confused than relieved. "You're saying we locked ourselves in_side_ the Shikon no Tama?" she choked. "Like a key?"

His eyes narrowed in what she assumed was great annoyance, and he spun his back to her. She took his silence as an affirmative. Besides, it had to be true. Why else would he let her live after clocking him like that with her weapon?

Sango suddenly felt very weak. Her worrying gaze looked over the vast expanse before them with its disturbing lifeforms, and moving shadows. Was there a trail they could take? A direction they could head? Without her rage to distract her, the effects of this ominous realm started to sap the strength from her legs.

She was abruptly swamped with a heady mix of claustrophobia _and_ vertigo, and fell to all fours, closing her eyes against the sight. "It's hell," she panted between shuddering breaths. "We've landed in hell."

A brief pause. "I imagine it would be similar. Yes."

It took her a few more minutes to regain some composure, and accept not only where she was, and the missed opportunity to avenge her brother, but her immediate company as well.

_Sesshoumaru..._ Someone who would delight in his own brother's bloodshed. Sango imagined that she'd feel justified in killing the heartless youkai for that reason alone. She peered up at his stoic form - some wayward breeze tugging at his clothes and hair. It made him look surreal...intangible...as though he already belonged here. It made her feel _that_ much more alone. "What do you know of this place, demon?"

He said nothing, and she first thought he was choosing to ignore her. But something about the slight sag in his shoulders told her it was more than that.

Sango rose to her feet, trying to quell the rising panic. "We can't travel together unless there is some form of honesty between us," she insisted heatedly. "Now tell me, how much do you know about this realm?"

A distant screech wailed eerily in the distance, and Sesshoumaru turned his head slightly, barely giving her a shadowy profile of his face. His next words were hidden, almost inaudible.

"I know enough to fear it."


	2. Traveling with Beelzebub

**CHAPTER 2 **

_Traveling with Beelzebub_

* * *

Sango didn't know how long they'd been traveling. Minutes. Hours. It was hard to tell. She learned very quickly that Time was skewed in this haunted, eerie dimension. It wasn't that the actual rhythmic seconds were warped, so much as all the signs that declared its passing weren't working. 

She wasn't tired. She wasn't hungry. Her body didn't ache... And though such symptoms would have relieved her on any other day, at the moment they were nothing short of alarming.

_What is this place doing to me?_

Increasingly paranoid and feeling the weight of the ominous realm on her soul, Sango's eyes scanned the jagged, coal black path Sesshoumaru had chosen - one that had guided them out of the cavern - for deliberate movement…a shifting in the shadows. There was something following them. She knew it. She caught it flicker in her peripheral vision once or twice, only to disappear when she turned her head.

Cold chills spun down her spine like spiders, and she quickly redirected her attention to the heavy, white mane of the dog demon up ahead, noting for the hundredth time that even in the murky light of this realm, he seemed radiant. Celestial. _So deceptive_, she thought warily. _That the most beautiful creatures are the most dangerous…_

He walked at a brisk pace, but moved as languidly as water down a slope. She had every strand of hair, every movement of his stride, every fold of his attire memorized. After all, she'd been looking at his back almost since they arrived.

It's not that Sango wasn't accustomed to silence. She was.

But this annoying, uncompanionable, edgy quietude between them was getting on her already-frayed nerves. She wanted answers, but the only time the youkai acknowledged her was to give one-word commands. Sango grumbled inwardly. _Self-centered, arrogant, aa-_

"aahhss…!" Sango's foot caught on something, and her knee came plummeting down on a jag. It pierced cloth, skin and cartilage alike, sending tendrils of pain lancing through her leg. She bit back a cry and twisted to sit on the ground.

Sesshoumaru stopped, his form unmoving except to turn his head barely enough to observe her over his shoulder, a slight furrow in his brow.

Sango worried over her wound. It was deep. A nasty bloody gash. _Stupid, stupid stupid! _she berated herself heatedly. Looking back she couldn't even see what the heck she'd tripped on. It had almost felt like something grabbed her foot.

When she tried to straighten her leg, it protested painfully, and she hissed at the pain of it. Though Sesshoumaru said nothing, she could feel his disdain as clearly as she felt the severed…sin…_news… _

Wha…?

The pain lessened. She gawked in surprise as it started to mend itself, the torn edges of her flesh readhering, closing up until it was quite simply gone - leaving her with nothing more than a phantom pain. She bent it, then straightened it. Then bent it again. Then she hopped up on her feet and shifted her weight around.

"Amazing…" she muttered, looking down.

Sesshoumaru turned and started walking again. Sango's lips thinned in growing aggravation. Her body had just regenerated of its own accord, and here he was walking on as though it was nothing. It was time for a conversation, she decided, no matter how uncomfortable it made him.

"Something of importance just happened, you know."

A pause. "Your flesh has mended itself," he said without turning around. "In a spiritual realm, your body is governed by your spiritual strength. You should have expected a change."

"And you should have told me more," she hollered after his retreating form, "like where exactly you're taking us, for example!"

A slight hesitance in his stride, but that was the only sign that he'd heard her. She'd asked the same question earlier, and had gotten the same response. Nothing. Cocky youkai was really starting to piss her off.

"HEY!" she shouted with an aggression that the exterminator usually reserved for hunting. He stiffened, and she imagined if he had hackles, they'd be rising. His hand clenched into a brief fist, and he turned around slowly, his eyes narrowed to slits.

"Our destination is the rim of the realm…" he answered edgily, his lip twitching just the tiniest bit.

She blinked. _That's a start…_ "Why?"

"Because it might be unstable enough to let us through." He paused as she absorbed it. "Are you finished?" he asked, and though his face barely showed emotion, the words dripped with aggravation.

"No," Sango unhitched Hiraikotsu and imbedded its end in the ground next to her, using it to casually lean on. "What is your vested interest in the Shikon no Tama?" she asked suspiciously. "Why did you try and stop me from rendering it powerless?"

That one elicited a whole snarl from the ever-composed youkai. He turned around and faced her. "Spare me such petty questions. Your concern is to stay alive so we can escape. Nothing else."

She opened her mouth to retort when his eyes fixed on something behind her and widened in alarm. Before she could ask, a burning sensation enflamed her skull. A hissing intake of breath escaped her lips as her vision spun. The _thing_, whatever it was, was probing her mind. She could feel it. Running through her most guarded secrets like a thief in an unguarded castle - opening closed doors, snatching precious memories... She'd never been mind-raped before, and decided it was the most terrifying experience she'd ever had.

With her consciousness caught up in a vortex of panic, Sango was vaguely aware of a disturbance in the air beside her, followed by a grunt from the dog demon. An arm hooked around her waist and yanked her forward, dislodging the attacker from her head. Her vision cleared, and she found herself bracketed against Sesshoumaru's chest. His heart thumped wildly under her palm, and his sword was unsheathed and upright in his other hand. His stern face was locked straight ahead, and when Sango twisted in his grasp to see, she nearly screamed.

It wasn't the thing's elongated body that dangled below it, or the icky green haze it emanated that unnerved her so. And it wasn't the fact that it flickered on and off like a firefly on the blitz, or that it had no other appendage save for a tail. It was that, bobbing at the top of it like a duck in a pond was a head.

Miroku's head.

"Sango-chan," it said in her friend's soft, soothing voice that usually left her heart fluttering. She watched in horrified denial as the remainder of its body billowed out like curling smoke until it filled in as the rest of the monk's body, complete with black and purple robes - a perfect image.

_A perfect mockery. _

The thing that was Miroku held out the hand with the kazaana, an earnest expression on his face. His large calf eyes shimmered with palpable sincerity. "I love you, Sango." He took a step towards them, and Sesshoumaru's claws absently dug into Sango's ribs. "You're all I can think about. I swear. Please be with me. My heart belongs to none other…"

She felt the fraud oozing off the creature like a thick fog. She knew it wasn't Miroku. Knew it. But the thing looked just like him. Sounded just like him. And saying the words she was so desperate to hear, no less. Sango froze, hating herself for wishing it was real. She didn't even know she'd been leaning towards the clone until Sesshoumaru angrily flung her behind him, and leapt at the perfect replica of the monk.

"TENSAIGA!" The only evidence that the dog demon had moved was the angle of his sword, a slight rustling of his hair - and a lightning-white trail blazing through the creature's torso. Its visage - Miroku's visage - twisted in a maniacal grimace before it dispersed into the air, leaving nothing but a thin cloud of dust-like matter.

Sango didn't realize she'd been holding her breath until she exhaled. Sesshoumaru faced her, his unvoiced thought evident in those narrowed, condescending eyes.

_Humans and their petty dreams…_

She wanted to curl inside herself. She hadn't shared her sentiments for Miroku with anyone. Anyone! And to think that someone as heartless as the youkai now knew about them made her stomach churn. He'd spit on the pearls of her soul, damn him. Unable to deny or retract it, Sango could only retaliate, as though it was _his_ fault her mind had been violated. "Stop looking at me like that. What you saw was none of your business, demon…"

"Fool," he said, with about as much dynamic as a humble prayer. "One attack, and you were as useless as a child."

A lump grew in her throat, but she pushed through it. "It's not like you took the time to tell me they fought with mind games, you know…"

"The beasts of a spiritual realm can only feed on the body after they've broken the soul. If you freeze up at such nonsense as this," he made a general motion at where the mockery of Miroku had been standing, "then it would be better for me to knock you unconscious and carry you out."

Sango turned away from him and stomped over to Hiraikotsu, yanking it out of the ground. "And you think you'd fare better, youkai?" she asked, wondering how big he'd be talking if _he'd_ been the one who was mind-raped.

The dog demon didn't get a chance to answer, for as soon as she'd asked the question, something lunged at him from behind.

"LOOK OUT!" Sango screamed.

Quick on the uptake, he ducked and whirled around, but it was too late. What looked like a giant, ghost-like tadpole had lodged its upper body in Sesshoumaru's head, tail wriggling frantically to keep hold.

He grunted, and fell to his knees, clutching at his face. His claws had passed right through his attacker. Sango leapt, and swung Hiraikotsu, but it also swiped clear through what was visible of the creature's body.

"How do I get it out?" she cried.

Sesshoumaru began to tremble, his growls crescendoing. She saw his porcelain features twist in a grimace of pain as his hands shifted about his face. He couldn't concentrate enough to hear her, so she tried her blades, then her armor. All, just as useless.

Then, unexpectedly, the ghoul dislodged itself from him, trailing off with a wicked cackle. Sesshoumaru looked up from his kneeling position on the ground, panting, his eyes strained, his mouth curled down in a frown. He looked anxious, stressed…

Vulnerable…

_Oh no…_

Sango turned just in time to see the creature take shape of none other than a human girl. _The_ human girl that traveled with Sesshoumaru as what everyone assumed was his servant. Her larger-than-life eyes disappeared in a contented smile when she saw him, and she clapped her hands and jumped up and down with all the exuberance of youth.

"SESSHOUMARU-SAMAAAA!"

He shuddered at his name. "_Rin..._"

A small, glowing orb appeared above her little head, and she peered up at it curiously.

Sango blinked at the image. _The Shikon no Tama?_

It descended, engulfing the girl in an aura of red light. She gasped, her face terrified as black stripes formed on her cheeks. Her rounded, human ears slid into points through her hair. Her eyes grew golden and feral, and little fangs slipped out from under her lips.

Sango gaped in appall. "A demon?" she snapped at Sesshoumaru. "You were going to use the Shikon no Tama to strip the child of her human heritage and turn her into a DEMON?"

He flinched at her words, but kept his gaze locked on the girl, his breaths hissing in and out of clenched teeth. He stood shakily to his feet and clutched at his sword.

"Sesshoumaru-sama! Sesshoumaru-sama!" The look-alike held her arms out and ran towards him. Instead of swinging, he took a step back, a small strained noise emanating from his mouth.

Sango swiped her blades through the creature, but just like earlier, they passed right through. She looked to Sesshoumaru who was still backing up. Why was he hesitating? "Use your Tensaiga and be done with it!" she yelled. His lips set in a determined line, and he swung…

…with his eyes closed.

_Wha…?_

The girl screamed and dissipated like the one that had mimicked Miroku, but Sesshoumaru looked as though he'd just killed his own mother. Considering how well he'd perfected the art of reticence, Sango could only assume it was because he was horrified at having his ever-guarded thoughts invaded.

He couldn't have possibly cared for his human servant. Not if he found her humanness so despicable that he needed to purge her of it. His intent made her sick all over again.

_He's bought so completely into his own superiority that he actually thinks his presence is tainted by us. _Sango grit her teeth, surprised that she could like him even less than when they'd started. Of all the people to be trapped in a different realm with…

"Come," he ordered without looking her in the eye, his voice haggard. "The lighter territories of this realm should be safer."

"Lighter territories?"

He motioned towards a nearby mountain, and Sango noticed a patch of light at its base - a sectioned off area that glowed against the darkness like the end of a rainbow. She remembered something Kaede said about the inherent forces of the Shikon no Tama - more evil than good. Perhaps this was how they were manifest within - territorial sections that didn't mingle, nor blend.

Sango shivered. Her blood still ran cold from the encounter with the realm's mimic ghouls. She sheathed her weapons and stepped after Sesshoumaru's retreating form…

…only to be snatched from behind. She cried out in alarm as oily, black tentacles snaked around her legs. It whipped her feet right out from under her, and started to drag her back. A gurgling moan sounded from her unseen captor as Sango struggled to gain purchase, and she screamed again.

Sesshoumaru spun around, and materialized before her with his sword. He hacked at it, sliced at it, stabbed at it, but Tenseiga bounced off its skin, not leaving so much as a puncture. The dog demon growled. "It's alive," he said, sidestepping similar attempts by the multi-armed beast to ensnare him.

"Nngh!" Sango clawed at the ground, feeling her nails rip on its rough texture. She really _really_ didn't want to see what was attached to all these limbs. Another oily appendage curled around her waist and hauled her back at twice the speed. Sesshoumaru lunged and reached for her.

And she could have latched onto him. Both hands were free. But in the frenzied panic of the moment, she saw herself between two monsters - not wanting to end up the clutches of either. It clouded her rationale. Made her hesitate.

And that was all it took. Sesshoumaru shrank in her vision, held back by a flurry of gnarly slapping tentacles, as she was swallowed whole by something thick, wet, _heavy_...

Everything blacked out. She was rendered immobile, crushed by the pressure of the thing's belly. It pressed against her mouth, pinning her limbs in place. She was unable to move. To breathe... _Is this the end?_ she wondered, simultaneously realizing that the notion of dying wasn't nearly as terrifying as she'd thought. _Hn. I'll get to see my father again. And Kohaku…_

A deep, throaty roar reached her ears through her predator's sluggish flesh. Even in the confinements of the creature's gut, Sango felt a shiver run down her spine. Whatever was out there was massive. Sesshoumaru would no doubt meet his end as well. Besides, it wasn't like he could escape without her-

"Mph!" Sango felt her weight pitched back as the thing she was inside screeched. It was abruptly followed by the uneven vibrations of ripping skin. Two seconds later, she was out. Covered in goo, granted, but out. When Sango wiped the brownish muck away from her eyes, she nearly turned and crawled back inside the carcass.

It was a hound. A raging white hound, twenty times the size of Kirara. Its fur danced against its body like flames, and its muzzle was lined with sharp, nasty teeth. It was both beautiful and terrifying. Though futile, Sango unhitched Hiraikotsu to fight it. Her conditioning permitted little else.

"Come on then, pup," she said, slipping into a well-practiced crouch, resigning herself to die.

The massive canine narrowed its eyes and growled, and it struck her as funny that such an awesome creature would take the time to look annoyed…

_Wait…_

She squinted, taking in its condescending posture, and radiant appearance. _Both beautiful and terrifying…_ Sango's jaw dropped. She put Hiraikotsu back, cocked her head and placed her hands on her hips.

"_That's_ your demon form?"

The mighty dog ignored her in typical Sesshoumaru fashion, and bowed its head for her to hop on. She obliged, with a moment's regret for getting gooey monster muck all over his clean white fur.

"What I don't get," she said as she straddled his thick neck and entwined her fingers in his glossy hair, "is why you spend so much time looking like a woman, when you could just as easily look like _this…_" She patted him for emphasis, duly impressed.

He turned his muzzle to glare back at her, his lips peeling off his fangs in a rumbling snarl. It gave Sango the distinct impression that he'd rather be sharpening his teeth on her bones than rescuing her from the bowels of a monster.

As though in retaliation, he sprung to the air without warning, nearly throwing her off. She swore and clamped down with her thighs, twisting her fists in his mane. It made riding Kirara feel like a float across the lake - rough, uneven…dizzying. She tried to focus on their destination ahead, that grassy, illuminated oasis in the dismal realm. It bounced crazily in her vision, but grew rapidly thanks to the dog demon's amazing speed.

When they descended down onto it, Sango felt the resistance of a barrier. It washed over them both completely - not unlike being submerged in water. Then there was a slight wind on her face as they came through the other side, and she looked at her hands, and noticed that they were clean.

The creature's brownish slime was gone. Wiped off her clothes, her skin, cleansed out of her hair... She turned around and saw a brown streak sliding down the outside of the dome-shaped barrier, plopping on the outer edge in a sick, oozy pile. Apparently the two territories didn't mix. At _all_.

Sesshoumaru thumped down on a soft, grassy slope, and bucked her right off. Sango swore as she half-turned in the air, and landed in an unbalanced crouch. She huffed, ready to reprimand him, but her words got caught in her throat as he transformed before her eyes.

The mighty hound was enveloped in a foggy aura that crackled about his form like lightning. The lines of his body blurred, and he began to shapeshift, downsizing until he solidified once more into the humanoid that she detested.

_Sesshoumaru…_

He sat down not far from her, folding his arms in a fashion that reminded her of Inuyasha.

Sango marched over to him, and folded her arms tightly. "Mental attacks, physical attacks, light and dark territories... If there's anything else about this realm that you're not telling me, I swear, I'll-"

"Leave me," he snapped, without looking up.

Sango studied him - hunched shoulders, sagged form, rapid breathing. If she didn't know any better, she'd say he was actually tired. "The transformation drained you, didn't it..." she stated more than asked.

His eyes opened at her insight, but stayed fixed on the ground. He confirmed her inquiry with his silence.

Sango pursed her lips. "How long?"

"I don't know."

She turned her back to him and clasped her hands behind her neck and tilted her head. Dark forms fluttered on the outside of the sanctuary, hovering curiously. But none came near the barrier. She imagined she would have taken more comfort in the respite, had she not been trapped with an arrogant, incommunicable demon. As it was, she was almost anxious to continue the trek, just so she could escape from this realm, and escape from _him..._. With a heavy sigh, Sango laid down in the grass with one knee bent, not far from him.

"You didn't take my hand."

Sango startled. It was soft. Almost inaudible. She looked over to the enclosed demon, his lustrous hair blanketing his shoulders like silk. He hadn't moved. She frowned and propped herself up on her elbow. "What?"

He turned his head slowly, and underneath his heavy bangs she could make out the slightest furrow of his brow. "You didn't take my hand when I reached out for you," he said again. "Why?"

She blinked, recalling that crazy moment of indecision that had resulted in her being swallowed by the tentacled realm beast. She didn't know where he was going with the question, but Sango was nothing, if not honest. Besides, it wasn't like their forced fellowship could get any more strained. She looked down at the grass, twirling her fingers absently around a blade.

"Because a part of me would rather be swallowed by that thing, than be touched by _you_."

Silence. Probably the worst lull between them since they'd started out. She felt the heat of his gaze like the noonday sun, and fought the urge to go and hide behind a rock.

"Hn. So you would rather die," he said not quite evenly, giving Sango the impression that her words had penetrated more than he was letting on. "Pathetic human."

"Pathetic?" she asked, and met his gaze with a heat of her own. "At least I'm not afraid of death, demon."

He studied her for a moment. "You're afraid of life."

It was her turn to stare silently. How dare he… How dare he suggest so much, when he knew so little. Downplaying her resolution as though it were an immature weakness, and not a brave perspective on passing. She was beginning to think she liked it better when he didn't speak at all.

"I have nothing left to live for. There's a difference," she said, her voice rough with emotion. "Everything...every_one_...that I loved was taken from me in the worst manner possible. My family. My village. Slaughtered by Naraku. I am the last."

She was trembling, so caught up in her own story that she almost failed to notice how his expression had changed. That he actually _had_ one. And he looked at her not with loathing, or disdain…but rather some sort of bitter familiarity.

Sango shook her head. _Hn?_ She must have been imagining it. "Hence, my happiness awaits me in the next dimension. Though I'm sure my words are wasted on something like you, since you couldn't possibly understand. Much less, care."

"You don't know me."

"I know that you seek your own brother's death. I know that you hate humans enough to rob your girl servant of her human heritage. And I know you'd rather kill me than look at me. Does anything else matter?"

He frowned and looked away. "I don't have to explain myself to you."

"Figures," she said, wiping the water from her eyes with the backs of her hands. This conversation had gotten way out of control. The _last_ thing she'd intended to do was to rip her own heart out and show him the scars on it. "I doubt there's much more depth to you, anyhow-"

"You think only humans suffer?" he asked, and though his voice didn't fluctuate, it carried the impact of a hundred angry exclamations. It made her look up, and his face had darkened…backed by some memory, no doubt, that burned at the forefront of his mind. "You think that you're the only ones who have lost kin and clan to the steely claws of the enemy?"

Sango was taken aback. She'd never considered that the dog demon had ever cared about anyone but himself. Foolish, now that she heard the pain in his words. Even Sesshoumaru had been a baby once…a child who needed his mother.

"You're wrong, huntress," he said quietly, and looked out to the dark realm beyond the barrier. "Perhaps we have more in common than you think." His last words were barely more than a whisper, and Sango wondered if he'd said them out loud for her, or himself. Either way, she felt his sincerity. And if he was indeed weathered to the kind of loss she had suffered, then...

"What do you do," she asked, remembering with an ache in her chest Kohaku's smile, and her father's hearty laugh, "when you want nothing more than to be with they who have passed?"

A brief pause, and he met her stare with crinkled eyes. "You live, Sango. On their behalf."


	3. Kindred Spirits

**CHAPTER 3 **

_Kindred Spirits_

* * *

He said her name. 

Granted, the dog demon had said nothing since then, but still… He'd acknowledged her as more than a lesser being.

What did that mean?

It was so easy to hate him. To say he was evil, through and through. It made things simple. Kept her feelings guarded. But that look in his eyes, when he counseled her to keep going…was it empathy? Was the heartless youkai capable of feeling something so selfless?

_Gah. Focus, girl. Focus. _Sango shook herself, and did a routine scan of the mountain path they were walking. They'd left the sanctuary some time ago, and after being in its well-lit confines, she was twice as aware of how utterly dark most of the realm was. It made her wonder how she could see at all.

_Hn, _she thought as she squinted painstakingly at the nearest fold of shadows, _if we ever get out of here, my eyes will never be right again._

Not far from her, Sesshoumaru came to a bend up ahead, and paused, his eyes widening marginally. Sango caught up to him and followed his stare. Through the roiling fogs and black jags, a faint yellow haze could be seen against the darkness.

"Another light territory," she said under hushed tones.

"Hm." He studied the terrain they'd have to cross to get there. "It's not likely that we'll reach it without incident."

She heard the underlying caution of his words. _Be on your guard._ Sango glanced up at him and nodded.

He made to continue on, and then stopped abruptly, frowning at the clearing. "Sango," he breathed, "that..._power_...you tapped into when you flew at Naraku… Have you ever done that before?" He was nervous. Anxious. The signs were subtle; a single crease in his brow, parted lips, livened eyes… But she could read them by now.

"No," she answered.

"Hn." He pursed his lips and he met her worried stare. "Do you think you could do it again?"

"I don't know," she said and peered with worried apprehension out at the clearing. "What do you sense?"

As though in answer, the ground began to rumble. Sango hissed and bent her knees for leverage as Sesshoumaru unsheathed Tensaiga. It felt like an earthquake, though Sango suspected something much worse. Jagged rock formations began to topple around them as the sound got louder. The crust of the valley cracked. Bubbled up.

And outright erupted. Boulders and debris shot at them and Sango dove behind the nearest rock, while Sesshoumaru weathered the assault with nothing more than an arm braced in front of his ever-composed face.

A thunderous sound exploded from the clearing, somewhere between a roar and a strangled scream. Sango felt her blood run cold, and she jerked her head around the rock to see…

_Oh…shit…_

A swarm of writhing tentacles, an oily festering, bulbous body… No eyes or ears or any other orifice aside from a gaping, cavernous mouth. Just like the one that had swallowed her earlier, with one exception…

_This_ one was the size of a mountain. Literally.

She looked desperately to the glowing sanctuary that wasn't far beyond it, and turned to a visibly stressed Sesshoumaru. "Hey! I don't want to fight it. Do you?"

He flicked an anxious glance back at her, and she pointed with her chin to the light territory. Following her train of thought, he sheathed his sword.

"We'll circle around opposite sides," he confirmed, and lunged right as the first tentacle lanced out and struck where he'd been standing. _"Go!"_

Sango didn't need to be told twice. Letting her adrenaline fuel her movements, she bolted to the left. An attack immediately followed. Thick, black limbs struck at her in rapid fire, crunching the ground where they'd missed. Sango barely managed to stay one step ahead of them, leaping, ducking, out-maneuvering… She shouldn't have been able to dodge so many. In her usual dimension, she was almost certain she wouldn't have. But for some reason, she felt stronger. Faster. And could only hope that the dog demon was faring just as well, because, quite frankly, there was no room for error.

With her heart thumping in her ears, and a hundred angry limbs behind her, she reached the light territory amazingly fast, welcoming the electric cleansing sensation of the barrier as she touched on through. A dual-toned scream followed, making her knees buckle. Within the safety of the sanctuary, she turned to see the realm beast's appendages crackle against the barrier and pull back hastily.

_Alright,_ she thought, trying to catch her breath. _Where is he…?_ The light territory had a smattering of sandstone boulders, and the usual fair green foliage, but no Sesshoumaru.

"Dammit," she swore and turned her gaze to search the darkness for the familiar billowing of white hair. No sooner did she find him, than Hiraikotsu was flung out through the barrier in a giant arc, lancing through a dozen monstrous limbs that had somehow managed to trap their target. Freed from their gripping encasement, Sesshoumaru bolted, a streak of light against the dark.

He burst through the barrier not long after Hiraikotsu returned, composing himself almost immediately and turned to glare at the towering realm beast that screamed in frustration at its lost prey. After a moment, it gave up, and buried itself again underground.

Sango tossed her weapon to the ground, and plunked down, resting her elbows on her knees in bewildered exhaustion. "Do you think it'll wait for us to come back out?"

Sesshoumaru folded his arms across his chest without taking his eyes off the gaping hole that the beast had left in its wake. "It may."

"Hn," she paused contemplatively. "Pity your weapon can't work against it. Being the sister sword to Tetsusaiga, I imagine-"

"Tensaiga works against the undead," he said sharply. "It is the nature of the blade."

"I see," she said quietly, making a mental note to stay clear of the sword topic. "Well, I've never seen a monster that massive," she said, wondering why she wasn't more traumatized over the encounter. This realm was doing strange things to her, indeed. "Truth be told, I shouldn't have been able to get past it."

"I told you," he reaffirmed in that deceptively melodious voice, "your physical prowess is a direct reflection of your spiritual strength, here."

"Ah," she mused, recalling his earlier words. Then something alarming occurred to her. Sesshoumaru, who was ten times her superior in speed and strength, had been slow enough to get caught. Could it mean that...?

"Your expression betrays you," he said suddenly, his eyes narrowing to slits. Apparently, her thoughts had been written all over her face, and it seemed she'd just hit a sore point, dead on.

_Oops…_ She felt the blood rush to her face. "I-"

"Do not doubt my abilities, human. There's too much you don't understand."

The tension was thick between them again, which was a shame. The last trek was almost comfortable. He kept his angry eyes on her, maybe out of habit, since most would cower under his intimidating gaze. But she held it. He said there was much she didn't understand, and she couldn't stop herself from searching his face for enlightenment. What could possibly make such a disciplined mind weak?

Misinterpreting her intrigue for insolence, he dropped down, suddenly inches away from her face. "You think this is a game?" he asked with unmasked threat. "I've slaughtered entire armies for lesser offenses. Are you so quick to forget who I am?"

She flinched at his abrupt proximity, feeling the quick puffs of his breath on her face. Tilting her head to the side, she felt her brow furrow. "How can I forget who you are, when I never knew to begin with?" she asked quietly, feeling neither fear, nor anger.

His face froze, but a score of different emotions flickered in his eyes. She didn't bother deciphering them. Sango was on the thread to some great insight.

"You're certainly more complex than I thought, Sesshoumaru," she said, trying out his name for the first time and deciding that she liked it. "You also made it inside a barrier that rejects malevolence, which can only mean that your core is inherently good."

His lips parted mutely, and he blinked, clearly unaccustomed to being analyzed like this…. He inched slowly back, and it struck Sango as interesting that he didn't have a well-practiced retort for her. His thoughts were so unguarded, that his stupefied expression, this close, reminded her of a certain hanyou.

"My word," she breathed, wondering how it was that she never caught it before. "You and your brother have the same glittering, golden eyes." She chewed her bottom lip in between her teeth as she studied his face. _Except that yours are so sad, Sesshoumaru,_ she mused silently, feeling her face soften with pity. Oh, he was going to regret getting this close to her. It enabled her a pebble view of his ever-guarded soul.

Three expressions battled violently for control of his face right then - denial, belligerence, and honest surprise. He rocked back on his heels, animosity winning out. "Never compare me to him," he said heatedly, and stood to his feet with his arms crossed. "We are nothing alike."

Sango watched him with a new, but dim understanding as he spun his back to her and started to walk away. His wounds ran deep, whatever they were. In that split second, she'd seen enough inner conflict, and bitterness in his eyes to make her own heart ache.

He lingered at the edge of the sanctuary, and it didn't take a wise man to know that he wanted to leave. Tension radiated off him like the eastern winds, and after a drawn out moment of strained, unbearable silence, Sango stood to her feet. She knew she should have allowed him his privacy, as he was obviously more comfortable alone. But be it compassion, curiosity, or the desperate need to find a kindred spirit - she was driven to know what ailed him.

Inhaling deeply, she walked over to stand alongside him, and stare absently out at the darkness. She imagined the only reason he didn't flee her presence was to demonstrate that she didn't get to him, even though it was clearly obvious that she did.

"Do you know how close we are to the rim?" she asked quietly. Innocently.

A pause. "It can't be that much father," he said without looking at her. "The clashing winds of the two dimensions… I can hear them, howling in the distance."

"Hm." She folded her arms across her chest and bowed her head to stare randomly at the grass. "It seems the closer we get, the more dangerous the realm beasts are."

He didn't disagree with her, so she took his silence as an affirmative.

"I'm not afraid of the tangible creatures," she said, having been well-trained to fight such things. "But those _ghouls_…the mind readers…" she pursed her lips and swallowed before continuing. "They…worry me."

In her peripheral vision, she could see a slight inclination of his head. A very subtle nod.

She intended to suggest that they somehow work up a resistance to such invasions…a method to make them more self-aware so that the next time a familiar face showed up to oppose them, Sango would do more than just freeze.

It's what she _intended_ to say, anyhow. What came out was something entirely different, a question no doubt burning in her subconscious mind. "Is the hanyou your only living kin, Sesshoumaru?"

She turned to see his eyes widen, and he glared at her, as though searching for ulterior motives. With great reservations, he finally answered.

"Yes."

Sango shook her head, recalling the fierce love and devotion she had for her own little brother. She couldn't even begin to comprehend how he could loathe Inuyasha so much. "Then why do you seek his death?"

His lip twitched. "Because it is my destiny."

"But-"

"Enough, Sango," he cut her off abruptly, clearly aggravated. "My history, my motives, my _goals_… None of them are your concern."

"But they could be," she said heatedly, and squared her shoulders. "We're trapped in a realm of mind games, demon. We'll be better-equipped against the ghoul attacks if we've already faced the ghosts of our pasts." It sounded objective. Rational. She even believed it now that she said it. "Besides, if you don't let me see what's going on inside your head, then they will."

He turned his back to her, before she could see his facial expression. "My thoughts are my own. Sharing them is a weak form of human dependency."

"Ah. And how many times did you have to tell yourself that before you actually believed it?"

He fidgeted, and looking at his angry mane of white hair, Sango didn't doubt that he would have wasted little time killing her had the circumstance of their entrapment been any different. Spinning on his heel, he made towards the barrier without meeting her eyes.

"This is pointless," he said darkly. "We're leaving."

Sango sighed. She'd never met anyone with so many emotional barriers in her life. What was he so afraid of?

"No. We're not."

He stiffened, and quirked an incredulous brow at her. Two seconds later, she found herself flung heavily over his shoulder with her thighs bracketed against his chest. She huffed and thumped his back with her fists.

"You're running away, don't you see that?" she yelled, spitting out strands of his hair that had caught in her mouth. She'd never been so grossly disregarded before. Even by her enemies. His grip only tightened, and she growled frustration. "Gah! You impulsive, emotionally retarded, self-important-" She gasped as the electric barrier washed over them. He wasn't bluffing. The bloody youkai had walked them right out into the darkness.

Just as Sango was about to go berserk, he went rigid. A moment later she knew why. The rumbling vibration of shifting gravel filled her ears. It was followed by a groan, and a whizzing sound. With a grunt, Sesshoumaru leapt back into the confines of the sanctuary just as a thick, gnarly appendage crackled against its barrier. He rolled her off his shoulder and dropped her on the grass.

"_Shit!_" he hissed before storming off, the cloth of his attire ruffling loudly.

It was the first time she'd heard him swear, which was surprising considering that he shared the same blood as Inuyasha. Instead of getting up to march after him, she stayed on her rear to watch the realm beast disappear reluctantly back into the ground.

With great effort, Sango quelled her frustrations. She had no place being so interested in his story to begin with, no? To hell with communicating, since he seemed to have such an aversion to it. It probably wouldn't have improved their odds much, anyhow.

Her thoughts continued along in this pattern for some time. Not once did she turn around to see what he was doing, or which angle of the barrier he was at. They'd either make it out, or die trying. But one thing was certain. The anticipation was going to drive her mad before the ghouls ever got a chance if they didn't figure out a way to get out of this sanctuary without the beast following.

Sango stood to her feet and stretched habitually, clasping her fingers over her head and cracking her knuckles. She gazed lazily beyond the barrier in the direction they were headed, and blinked.

A tall, spiraling rock formation loomed in the murky distance, its top a flattened head. Not big, but big enough. Surely it'd be isolated from the ground-dwelling beasts, and would provide enough respite for Sesshoumaru to recover after transforming. In his demon form, he could get them up there quickly, and at least they'd gain enough leverage to map out their next course.

Sango exhaled the remainder of her tension, and found him standing at the far end of the light territory. He was stoic…statuesque, but there was something about his posture that made her melancholy. Perhaps it was the way his head was bowed, or how tightly his arms were folded in front. Or maybe it was nothing more than the fact that he wouldn't face her. She approached him reluctantly, one hand fidgeting with the hilt of her blade. She stopped just feet away, and spoke to his back.

"Listen. I think I figured out a way-"

"It was his fault."

Sango blinked surprise at his rigid form, questioning whether or not she was hearing things. "I'm sorry?"

"You asked why I seek Inuyasha's death," he said more strongly. "It's because it was his fault that my tribe was destroyed."

Her breath caught. _He's opening up…_ Sango took a few seconds to get over the shock. She had the odd sensation of stumbling upon a rare bird, needing to tread cautiously to avoid frightening it.

"How?" she breathed.

"We were attacked," the words whispered over his shoulder like a wayward moth, "By those who we thought were allies. _Friends,_" he spat the word out like it was something vile. "They coveted our lands, and knew my father was away. It was over quickly."

His words were despondent, but she heard the pain in them as though they were her own. She held her breath, urging him to continue with her silence.

"I was too…_small_ to protect them. My mother. My sisters…"

Bitter familiarity. She could almost see the carnage of his family's death through her own memories. It was horrible. Something she wouldn't have wished on her worst enemy. And he'd just been a child, no less.

"They spared me to act as a messenger," his voice had dropped to a trembling whisper. "So half-crazed and covered in my kin's blood, I tracked my father down. When I found him, he was with his human whore, and their half-breed offspring. It was the child's first birthday."

_Inuyasha…_

She had so much to express…such strong feelings had been evoked, but the only two words that made it out were laughable in their inadequacy. "I see…"

He turned his head barely enough so she could see his facial profile. "My sire destroyed them...the ones who had slaughtered his tribe, his daughters, his _mate_..."

Sango swallowed past the growing lump in her throat. A parent's infidelity was damaging enough to a child, and to have such a terrible consequence as a result... No wonder he hated humans so much.

He came full circle and faced her with his usual reticent mask in place, save for those heavy amber eyes...shadowed by equally heavy bangs. "He stole my revenge, and fate took him before I could pay him back for that. So I am left with Inuyasha, who is nothing more to me than the insolent embodiment of my father's betrayal. _That_, Sango, is why I loathe him."

She was rendered speechless. Sesshoumaru's confession was like a spiked gift - too fragile to drop, yet too painful to hold. Every word of his story told of betrayal - by his friends, his father...a betrayal that ended in carnage, and terrible, _terrible_ loss. She barely noticed how her eyes stung, or how the ache in her chest had tightened to the point of discomfort. She couldn't help but to wonder if Sesshoumaru had been able to find a place he called home since then…or if he was ever able to trust after that.

Somehow, she doubted it.

"Are you done with your inquiries, huntress?" His voice was quiet...weary...

She swallowed and looked down, suddenly ashamed for making him relive such a horrible past. One so tainted with the ugliness of treachery. "Yes…"

"Then tell me what you came to say."


	4. Strength of the Soul

**CHAPTER 4 **

_Strength of the Soul_

* * *

Sesshoumaru rolled his observant eyes upwards…to the sides…down below… The reflective, obsidian wall stared back at him, no matter where he turned. The top could not be seen, nor could the ends. His eyes fixed once on a slight opening at its base before them…a passageway, blacker than the slate itself. 

He'd never seen such a deliberate rock formation in all his years of living.

"We have to go through it, don't we…" Her voice was a whisper…filled with dread. Reflex insisted that he meet her remark with disdain, but even Sesshoumaru couldn't deny the sense of foreboding he got from the tunnel.

He met her worried eyes and nodded. Sango pursed her lips, and shifted weight from one leg to the other. She glanced back at the passageway, and visibly shuddered. Her hand reached back absently to feel her boomerang, and she inhaled deeply, blowing her breath out in a long whistle.

"Well," she said, cracking her knuckles and straightening her spine, "let's do it."

He studied her a moment longer. No protesting. No pissing her pants. The exterminator was braver than most humans _or_ demons he came across. It both relieved and intrigued him. Then there was the whole matter of her soul… Despite the recent loss of her people, and her brother - Sesshoumaru's eyes narrowed at Naraku's vindictive use of the boy's zombie - Sango had somehow not only kept her sanity in tact, but had come out of it with an augmented spiritual capacity.

She was a puzzle. The young woman seemed to have no awareness of her own strength, which frustrated him. If he could learn how she had coped differently from their similar pasts, then perhaps it would give him some insight as to why he was…

Sesshoumaru silently berated himself. _No. It can't be that. It's NOT that…_

He had deliberately foregone any attachment…emotional dependency…since that cataclysmic upheaval in his life decades ago… There were no holes in his psychological fortress. There couldn't be.

_My soul is fortified… I've made sure of it…_

Two incredibly large chestnut eyes loomed in his consciousness suddenly, begging to differ. He winced.

_Rin…_

"Sesshoumaru? Is there something-"

"It's nothing," he answered sharply, striding over to the passageway before his own thoughts could betray him. He peered into the tunnel before entering, noticing that it was barely taller than he. A faint whistling of the clashing winds could be heard echoing from the other side. And there was no light to speak of.

Readying his other senses, he entered. The blackness swallowed him almost immediately, but his feet instinctively found the path. He could hear Sango behind him...as could every realm beast within a stone's throw of the tunnel, he thought with growing aggravation.

Bump. "Gah..."

Scrape. "Nggh..."

Thump, swoosh, crash. "Dammit!"

He turned angrily to see her black silhouette against the dimming light of the entrance. She was on the floor.

"Idiot. You're going to alert every-"

"I can't see!" she hissed.

"Use your other senses."

"What other senses? You're the hound demon, not me!"

He frowned. All that spiritual augmentation, and she still depended so heavily on her eyes? With a frustrated sigh, he grabbed her hand as she stood and tugged her behind him.

Sango made a small noise of surprise at the physical contact, but followed silently after that, with her own warm fingers curling tightly around his. He made his way through the darkness, more than a little distracted by her touch. It wasn't that she was invading his personal space, or the unprecedented fact that he was allowing himself prolonged physical contact with a human without killing them… Rather, it was the sensation of ease - of _camaraderie?_ - between them now that he'd begrudgingly divulged some of his past.

Amongst other impressions he didn't care to identify, it struck him as odd. That which he thought would make their interactions more strained, had in fact only made him more comfortable around her. A human.

A youkai exterminator, no less.

Now that he was guiding her, her strides seemed to match his own. So much so that were it not for her actual physical presence, radiating scent warmth and familiarity like it did, he wouldn't have even known she was there. Her feet were _that_ quiet.

Sesshoumaru's shoulder scuffed along the inner wall as he turned around a bend, and he snapped out of his musings to squint at a dim light up ahead. A slight squeeze on his hand let him know she'd seen it to.

"The end? Already?" she whispered behind him.

He wasn't sure, so he said nothing. As they tread onward, he felt her apprehension as much as his own through her pulsing fingertips. When the tunnel spit them it, it was into a large cave, illuminated in that murky luminescent glow that blanketed most of the realm. Not the end, but a short intermission. His eyes fell on the far wall, where a new tunnel started.

"Sesshoumaru."

"Hn."

"I can see."

_What?_ He turned his head to look at her over his shoulder. Her face was still serious, but her eyes were crinkled with amusement. His brow drew tight in the center in question.

The corner of her mouth lifted in a knowing smirk. "You can let go of my hand, now."

With a mental start, he realized that he had indeed been clutching firmly to her fingers. He abruptly let go, and faced the far end again. Foolish. It wasn't in his nature to be so unaware of his own actions. Cursed realm…

Sango moved quietly in front of him, again making no sound. His eyes fell on her legs, which, thanks to her attire were outlined and delineated in vivid detail. She wasn't wispy and delicate like the demon females of other clans, he noticed. And she wasn't mal-proportioned like a good deal of human women that spent more time sitting than walking… Her thighs and calves were lithe, but muscular. Effeminately sturdy. Aesthetically impressive. They should have weighted down her padded feet enough to make some noise when she walked.

But then again, she _was_ a hunter…trained in stealth. Sesshoumaru imagined she was an anomaly amongst her people. He certainly hadn't come across any human with such-

"-hopefully the half…way…"

His gaze darted to her face. She'd been talking? Sango blinked at him, mid-speech.

"…_point_..."

He looked at her. She looked at him. Her expression froze, but her cheeks darkened with a visible flush.

Sesshoumaru frowned. _Hn…?_

She snorted and clapped a hand to her mouth. Alarmed, he first thought she was struggling with an unseen ghoul, but her following sniggering, and averted eyes suggested something much more trivial.

"You're laughing…" he said, nonplussed.

At that, she gave up trying to hold it in, and threw her head back with mirth. She filled up the cave up with cheery, lilting hee-haws as her eyes disappeared in a broad, white smile. He might have found the sound pleasant, had her lack of composure not been so grossly inadequate for their perilous circumstance.

"There is nothing funny about our situation, Sango."

"Sorry sorry," she waved her hand in a placating gesture, her shoulders still trembling with chuckles. "It's just that…for some reason the look on your face just now," giggle, wheeze, hiccup, "it reminded me of Houshi-sama…"

_The monk…?_ Sesshoumaru frowned. He didn't like where this was going.

She took a deep breath, and composed herself somewhat, but random giggles still escaped in between words. "And you see…he's a lecherous bastard, hitting on every woman who crosses his path. The result is that it gave me a very brief," snort, snicker, chuckle, "but outrageous visual of _you_, with all that quiet dignity of yours, groping stupidly at an assortment of females, begging them to...to..." she cluthed at her belly and doubled over with hearty guffaws.

Sesshoumaru felt the blood rush to his face. He hadn't been ogling her... No. Of course not. How dare she conjure up such a ridiculous image, embarrassing him like that. He almost felt violated. "You would do well to regain your composure, human," he said heatedly. "This is not the place for such nonsense."

She nodded, not intimidated in the least. Straightening, the exterminator inhaled deeply, forcing the grin off her face. But for all her efforts, her eyes were still glistening with humor…and at his expense, no less. He tried to project his irritation, but there was something else clouding it. The effect her smile had on him, besides evoking anger, was…_strange_… No one had ever found him…_funny_ before… _Yes_, he decided, not wholly comfortable with the new sensation. _A strange effect, indeed. _

She wiped the moisture from her eyes and blew out her breath in a 'hooo boy'. When they made eye contact again, the foolish thing damn near lost the hold she'd gained.

Sesshoumaru shook his head in perplexed annoyance. The huntress was normally so serious…so somber from her recent losses. How could she be given to such spontaneous joviality? _Damn,_ he thought with growing alarm. _Don't tell me she's losing her mind…_

"I think I'm losing my mind," she said in a raspy voice, combing her thick bangs back from her forehead.

"You're not alone in that deduction."

She laughed at him again, but this time it was much more deliberate. The exterminator cocked her head towards the tunnel at the far end of the cave, her raven-black ponytail wagging about her shoulder blades in a playful fashion. "Then we'd better get-" her eyes widened dramatically. "BEHIND YOU!"

* * *

** **

Sango unhitched her blade as an elongated, ethereal ghoul emerged from the hard ground behind the dog demon. Instead of radiating blue, it emanated crimson in sickening bloody waves. She knew her weapons didn't work on the ghost-like creatures, but reflex demanded that she wield them. Readying himself, Sesshoumaru leapt forward, half-spinning and slicing his sword through the thing.

It screamed and dissipated. The move would have been progressive, had he not landed directly on top of another that had just barely begun to seep up below him.

"Another!" Her cry caught in her throat as something strangled her from behind. It made her drop her blade, and all too familiar tentacles curled around her torso and slammed her into a humanoid wall. Straining, she turned her head enough to see that it had no face, only an excess of limbs…which were squeezing her tightly.

"Sango!" Distracted by her capture, Sesshoumaru looked up, and quickly regretted it. A ghoul was latched onto his face instantly, its tail waving desperately to keep its hold. A couple more popped out of the ground, swarming around him like a pack of hungry carnivores.

"Get away from him!" she screamed, barely aware of the tightening grip around her neck and ribs from behind. Sesshoumaru doubled over, his great white mane shivering about his shoulders. He clutched at his face as his mind was raped, oblivious to the other attackers. Sango nearly went crazy with panic. _Why are they going after him and not me?_ For some reason it reminded her of how ravenous wolves sought out the young and afflicted to prey on.

_"Nnngh…!_" The damn thing behind her was trying to crush her. She squirmed, gaining some leverage, but unable to get free.

The creature dislodged from Sesshoumaru's face, and…disappeared? No. It was still there…absorbed, maybe. With his fangs flashing off the light of his sword, the dog demon searched for the thing, taking out its ghoulish comrades in the process. "Where is it?" he hissed, his wary eyes scanning the cave.

Sango squinted, then blinked. She blinked again. What was that, glowing red against him? "Ah!" she cried, elbowing the thing behind her, "Your pelt, Sesshoumaru! It's in your pelt!"

The demon's eyes widened in morbid anticipation. The blood and aggression seemed to drain from his face as he stared sickly down at the fur wrapped over his right shoulder. He seemed more than just worried.

The youkai looked outright terrified.

Sango freed an arm only to have it yanked back yet again. "Don't just look at it, idiot! Discard the thing!" she screamed from her confinement.

It was too late. The pelt uncurled, showing an angry, toothy muzzle. A face. A dog face. A muffled sound escaped Sesshoumaru's lips as it snapped at him, and he took a step back…as though he could possibly escape the thing when it was still attached to him.

It struck him, clamping down voraciously on his left arm. Razor sharp teeth ripped through cloth and skin, causing rivulets of blood to pour out from the mangled limb. Sesshoumaru growled his pain and tried to dislodge the animated pelt with his free hand, but it tugged, and gnawed at his left bicep until it tore right off his shoulder.

"Sess…Sesshoumaru!" Sango screamed.

He fell to his knees as the dog pelt disentangled itself from his body to hover menacingly over him. The thing spat the severed limb at the ground, its eyes glowing a ferocious red…

"TRAITOR!" it barked suddenly, in thunderous dual tones. "The arm of a lesser being mars your heritage. If you hadn't defied my dying wish by sparing the half-breed bastard, then you'd still be whole!"

"He...he was a child..." Sesshoumaru stammered, clutching at his mangled bicep.

"SILENCE!"

Instead of standing and fighting, Sesshoumaru scooted away like a maimed bird, his expression creasing in an anguished grimace. Sango gaped. Where was his confidence? His practiced mask of indifference? What significance did the pelt have, to draw so much emotion out in his face?

The being behind the huntress tried to crush her again, but only succeeded in squishing the wind from her lungs. She flexed and strained against it until she could breathe again. In the midst of her efforts, she wondered how it was that she hadn't been subdued yet. Was the tentacled humanoid really that weak?

The pelt loomed in the distance, filling out and growing until it was a radiating female version of Sesshoumaru's own demon form. Tendrils of fur danced about it like angry flames, and its eyes glowed red. "How _dare_ you, boy," it roared, spittle frothing at its canine tongue. "My own son, mocking his tribe with such a disgraceful life!"

Sango choked. _It's his MOTHER's pelt? He's been wearing his mother's pelt this whole time?_

"You...you're wrong!" he stammered at the hound from his undignified spot on the floor. "Every waking breath has been spent to honor your name…"

"LIAR!"

Sango stomped on her captor's toes, and lunged forward, pulling against her restraints. "Fool! Don't listen to it! It's not her!"

He winced at her words, and looked over in her direction. Sango locked stares with him, trying to transfer as much inner strength as she could through her eyes. A brief expression of clarity lit his face, and he turned back to the ghoul-possessed pelt of his mother, and stood on trembling legs.

With his shoulder stump dripping blood like a sieve, Sesshoumaru held Tensaiga firmly in his right hand. He was trying to be brave. She could see it. Sango said a silent prayer for him as she absently fought her restraints.

The dog reared on its hind legs and howled, berating him further. "Ha! Honoring our name, indeed! Is that what you call loving a _human brat_? The same species as the creature that your adulterous father spilt seed in, no less?"

_Rin…?_

Sango watched in muted horror as it swooped down and swatted the sword out of Sesshoumaru's hand with one colossal paw, and proceeded to violently dismantle him. "You have no place wearing our sacred armor," its maw bit down, snapping off his chest plate and shoulder spikes, "or the tribe's insignia's," sharp claws tore through cloth and skin, disrobing him until all that remained was the shredded bottom half of his once-ornate attire.

Before he could retaliate, a colossal paw smashed his bloodied form to the ground. He grunted with the impact, more vulnerable now than ever. Sango could barely make out his reddened face through the massive, curled toenails. His mouth moved over an inarticulate denial.

"Don't you dare deny it, pup! I've seen the secrets of your heart. I know why you're here!" It leaned its weight on his pinned body, and Sesshoumaru cried out in pain.

"Bitch! Leave him alone!" Sango screamed in rising panic. But her words had all the effect of feather darts. She redoubled her efforts to escape her confinements.

The dog's head bent down until it was huffing venomously in Sesshoumaru's face. "You mock our legacy, treacherous little runt! Your affections for the human child are so strong that you sought to prolong her short life by changing the girl into one of us!"

Mid-struggle, Sango's jaw dropped. _Is that why he wanted to change her into a demon?_ Bits of rationale fluttered across her awareness, suggesting that it was indeed possible for little Rin to get through Sesshoumaru's emotional barriers. After all, she was too young to even know they were there.

And he - a youkai lord…a sentient being - having gone on for so long without love, to suddenly receive it, unconditionally… It made sense, his secret loyalty to her… His devotion. Attachment. It was like giving a mutton to a starving man. His heart had secretly been longing for such affection this whole time, and now that he had it, he didn't want to lose it. Even if he had to risk his own life to try and prolong hers.

"There is no shame in your desires, Sesshoumaru!" Sango cried. But he was beyond hearing. The giant paw was grounding him into the soil, and the huntress could see the blood pouring out of the orifices of his grimacing face.

"I disown you, you traitorous cur! May your solitude continue in Hell!" the dog roared, its breath ruffling what was visible of his hair. Then it flipped him up and caught his limp body in its maw, shaking him jerkily like some demented, living chew toy.

"Sesshoumaru!" Sango screamed, and with a strength born of desperation, she broke the stalemate between she and her humanoid captor, tearing through its rubbery appendages. As though in a last ditch effort, the realm threw a red ghoul at her. It materialized quickly and assaulted her mind. She lost control of her awareness briefly as it ran its course. When she was able to focus again, the eyes of her little brother focused back.

_Kohaku…_

He started to cry and run towards her, no doubt with the goal of undermining her resolve. Her strength. But there was a hiccup in its plan. Unlike Sesshoumaru, Sango had already faced her soul's biggest cavity.

The attack on her psyche had no effect whatsoever. She was inoculated.

As she sidestepped the ghoul mimicking as her brother, it suddenly became clear. The realm beasts of this cave _weren't_ that weak.

_She_ was that strong. And now that she knew it, their attackers' seconds were numbered. A white-hot concentration of energy focussed in her palms, and the cave was abruptly filled with scourging ki blasts and wailing screams. What happened next was a blur, but suffice it to say…

…Sango won.

* * *

** **

_Just a few…more…steps…_

The barrier washed over them, and Sango fell to her knees. The severed limb and ripped dog pelt were tossed absently to the side, and the bloodied load slung heavily over her shoulder was eased with exhausted arms onto the grassy slope.

He moaned inarticulately, his closed eyelids twitching as the pain seared his awareness anew. "The…p-pelt..."

"Hush," she whispered through a rapidly constricting throat. Sango touched a light finger to his swollen lips. "The pelt, Tensaiga, your arm…it's all here. Rest, Sesshoumaru."

The words seemed to relax him - barely. His brow was still knotted in the center, and his pale, tormented face was stretched down in a frown so deep, his lower fangs could be seen. Sango took a good look at him. The youkai looked bad. _Really_ bad.

Bare to the waist, and shredded to the thighs, his body was covered in deep lacerations, oozing punctures, and gashes the size of her fist. His torso was swollen from internal bleeding and broken ribs - his legs useless and heavy from a spinal injury. He was coated in swirling reds of his own blood…blood he had spilled all over her during their trek through the remainder of the tunnel. Her hair was matted with it, and her clothes drenched in it. It was a miracle he still lived after losing so much.

For the first time since they arrived, Sango felt physically and emotionally drained. Something inside her made the connection to her despair at the dog demon's broken state. It pained her to see him like this, disheartening on a number of different levels…some she could readily admit to herself, and others she couldn't. But one concern rang out above the rest.

_Why isn't your demon magic working, Sesshoumaru?_ she thought in rising desperation as she realized his wounds were getting worse, not better. _Why isn't your body healing itself like mine did?_

Lying down next to him, she studied his face with worry. _Time. Maybe I just need to give it time. You'll pull through it. Your brother always does…_

They were comforting words. Pity they were so hard to believe.


	5. Dr Sango

**CHAPTER 5 **

_Dr. Sango_

* * *

Sango wasn't one to chew her nails. Nor was she one to pace. But after who-knew-how-long of pointless distressing, she found herself actively engaged in both. Reaching her designated spot in the grass for an about face, she spun on her heel and marched in the opposite direction. 

With her fingernail chewed to the nub, she started on the next. The huntress had gnawed through each one eight times over. Thanks to this realm's amazing rejuvenation powers, they just kept growing back. It was a beneficial attribute…one that the damn place failed to pass on to her companion. On impulse, her gaze flicked over to him to see if maybe…just maybe…he had started to recover.

_Ugh… Nope._ The bloody youkai still looked for all the world like he'd gotten in a fight with a hundred samurai swords. Her eyes trailed up to his face…and she froze, mid-step. Staring back at her in weary exasperation were two golden orbs, as bloodshot and heavy-lidded as she'd ever seen.

"Y…you're conscious!" she stammered.

His lip twitched, revealing a single glistening fang.

"St…stop…_pacing_!" 

She startled, suddenly very aware of all the nervous energy she was radiating. Definitely not conducive to a get-better environment, that. She stiffened obediently, and tugged her bottom lip in between her teeth, holding her hands in fists at her sides.

He rolled his eyes upwards in visible annoyance and closed them again. Sango tried to comply and stood rigidly for all of 10 seconds before she couldn't contain her anxieties any longer.

"Gah! You're not getting any better, Sesshoumaru!"

He winced at her words, and peeked up at her through slitted lids. Even through the bruised and bloodied discoloring of his once-porcelain face, she could see his bitter response, as though to say, _Obviously…_

"Why?" she cried. "Why can't you heal?"

"I…t-told you," he grated, and looked away.

"You told me?" Sango's mind raced through the smattering of conversations they'd had since entering this realm. It wasn't long before she pulled the right one out of the tumble…

_'Something of importance just happened, you know.' _

A pause. 'Your flesh has mended itself,' he said without turning around. 'In a spiritual realm, your body is governed by your spiritual strength…'

And it hit her, like the side of a mountain. Sango blinked as the tension left her shoulders. She looked at him..._really_ looked at him, and suddenly a whole new list of Sesshoumaru's ailments filled her mind's eye.

Instead of seeing contusions, gashes or punctures, she saw a maimed soul, a tormented mind, a broken heart…

Up until now, she'd never thought the youkai had a damn heart. She recalled what he'd told her about his past, and the attack that had broken him. An abrupt wave of sympathy washed over her for all his years lost to bitterness and hate…for a lost childhood, and all the happiness he'd sacrificed since then for the vengeful legacy of a forgotten people…

_Poor, poor demon boy… Forced into such an angry life before you even got to decide._

He squirmed under her scrutinizing stare, as though ashamed, and she recognized that the great youkai lord, slayer of kin, butcher of humans - whose capacity for malevolence made her stomach turn…

…was also an orphan, a son…

…_a brother…_

_Sesshoumaru_, Sango sent silently, blinking away the sting in her eyes, _Did your sisters love you as much as I loved Kohaku?_ She pursed her lips, deciding on the best answer.

_Hai. I bet they did._

Sango felt a sudden surge of protectiveness, seeing him in an entirely new light. He wasn't _her_ brother, but he was someone's. And as a sister, Sango knew what she had to do.

A growl from the dog demon perked her ears, and she noticed that Sesshoumaru was watching her with frustrated eyes. He must have read the look on her face. "Your

pity will kill me before the w-wounds do, woman."

She ignored him, and taking a deep breath, Sango maneuvered over behind him, and slipped her hands under his back. Moving him would hurt, but-

"Agh! What…_nnngh_?" He hissed angrily as she heaved him up, and started to drag him further into the sanctuary.

"I'm getting you away from the edge," she said sternly. "Can't heal your spirit if you're staring straight into the territory that broke it."

He growled loudly at her, but it was all he could do. Sango trudged inwards, her hands struggling to keep a hold of his bloodied, slippery skin, until she came to grouping of tall sandstones. Then situating herself in the grass, she leaned against one and heaved Sesshoumaru's protesting form back against her body, bracing him with a leg on each side.

She wrapped her arms protectively around his bare chest from behind, which caused him to go from tense to outright stiff. It didn't surprise her. She wondered if he even had any memories of being held as a child.

_Regardless, I'll still embrace you as though you were my own, demon, and we'll see if we can't mend your wounded soul…_

"Well," she said, looking through a feathering of his white hair at the colorful contrast of the green grass against yellow sandstone in front of them, "I like this view better, don't you?"

He struggled clumsily in her embrace, now fully alert, and in a great deal of pain. "Wh-whatever you're doing-"

"Sesshoumaru," she breathed above his ear, causing it to twitch. "Do you want to live?"

With his brow still knotted in pain, he blinked surprise at her blunt inquiry. He turned his head enough to see her expression in his peripheral vision, before his eyes narrowed in aggravation for being asked such an obvious question.

"Of c-course I do."

"Then let me in, demon. Let me see your heart."

"Keh. My th-thoughts are my own," he wriggled a little, trying to get free, but she tightened her hold, splaying her fingers across his busted ribs.

"I won't hold what you tell me against you," she said earnestly.

"I n-need no one."

"Bullshit."

A soft growl, and his lip curled up over his fangs.

"Dogs are pack animals, Sesshoumaru. Did you know that?" she asked, poignantly hinting at the nature of his demonhood. "They're not meant to dwell alone."

"Hn."

"And sentient beings, such as you or I, need nurturing to survive - also creatures that were never designed to live in solitude."

"Y-you can't possibly be sug…gesting-"

"I'm saying that you've been doing yourself a disservice all these years, trying to live without love. It's weakened your spirit, dog demon. Not strengthened it. _That's_ why you were defeated in the cave."

She waited for her words to sink in. She saw the twitch in his jaw muscles as he struggled with them. Had he been whole, she didn't doubt that he would have flung her across the way for her 'observation'. But he wasn't. And he needed help.

After a long, edgy silence, Sesshoumaru sighed defeat, and finally, _finally_ relaxed in her arms. He rested his head wearily against her collarbone, and let his one hand dangle down by the underside of her knee. "This is f-foolishness," he grated half-heartedly. "You won't be able to h-heal my wounds."

Sango breathed relief, knowing that his acquiescence meant that he'd at least let her try. "I'm going to help _you_ heal your wounds, demon." She leaned her cheek against his scalp, momentarily surprised at how natural it felt to be this affectionate with him. Granted, there was no way in hell he'd let her do this if he had any strength left in his body. Figuring the best thing to do was to discuss the very insecurities that had led to his downfall, Sango began the counseling.

"So tell me…is it true you spared Inuyasha at one time?"

* * *

** **

He wasn't going to answer that question. It was none of her business. Besides, how the hell would expounding on his failures help to build him back up? Sesshoumaru cursed his spirit, and he cursed his body for making him depend on a human, being forced to tolerate this cuddling as though he were a damn pet cat.

Why was she holding him like this? Sure they'd been forced into a reluctant companionship, but they were still enemies…weren't they? It was confusing. So confusing that even in the midst of the sharp, mind-numbing pains of his bloodied wounds, he was wholly aware of where his body leaned up against hers, and how warm her arms felt around his bare skin. He could even feel the light brush of her fingertips against his ribs…emanating sensation in a way that made his gashes seem like scratches.

It didn't make sense. "I th-thought you'd rather die than _t-touch_ me," he said, wincing at his own words, and cursing his busted mouth for making him stutter like an idiot.

He felt her stiffen, and then sigh heavily against his ear - he wished she'd stop doing that. "I didn't know you then."

"You d-don't know me now."

"Oh, I think I do," she said with a disturbing confidence. "Now stop avoiding the subject, and answer my question. The sooner you start talking, the sooner we leave. Did you spare Inuyasha's life?"

He closed his eyes like she asked, giving in. Everything hurt too much to fight her anyway. "Yes."

"Why?"

"I…I could find no honor…no satisfaction…in s-slaying a child."

"But your mother told you to?"

He scowled. Was she trying to make him feel better or worse? Guilt washed over him anew of having failed his matriarch. Slaying the hanyou offspring of his cheating father had been her choice of revenge. "It was her d-dying wish."

"Hmm…" She was silent for several moments, which normally wouldn't have bothered him. But telling her the most guarded secrets of his heart…left him feeling vulnerable. Naked. He was suddenly very sensitive to how his actions were perceived. Did she see him as a traitor, too? A coward?

"Do you regret it? Not killing him back then?" she finally asked. Reflex made him snort derisively. She heard it, and before he could respond, she added a quick, "The _truth_, Sesshoumaru…"

Biting back his pride, he considered it. "I regret f-failing my…mother."

"But you don't regret sparing him when he was a child..."

It was odd. He imagined he should have. But he didn't. "No."

He could feel her nod, approving his answer. _Hn. Like I need her approval…_ There was an abrupt release of tension in his chest right then, begging to differ… _What…?_.

"And little Rin…" she urged, switching subjects.

He cringed inwardly when he heard her name. Damn. He really didn't want to talk about that. "Sango-"

"Was it true? That which the ghoul accused you of?"

_Pushy, obstinate female…_ "I…I don't know."

She startled, at a loss for words. If his legs were working, he'd get up and walk away. Sesshoumaru realized that in not having to answer to anyone, he'd neglected to answer to himself. The whole topic of Rin was something he'd just accepted, not wanting the self-analysis that would inevitably come if he truly wanted to understand his actions. Resurrecting the child and taking her in like that…it was impulsive. Instinctive, even. He couldn't justify it. The insane act had gone against all his conditioning.

But that didn't change the fact that it just…felt…right.

And love… It was something that he scoffed at. Would it even be in his capacity? He thought about the fierce protective attachment he felt towards young Rin. It had driven him to act rashly, resulting in his imprisonment in_ this_ place. But was that it? All he knew were the simple things, like…

"She smiles," he said quietly, hearing the child's laughter on his inner ear. "She smiles, even when she has nothing." His throat suddenly hurt. _Egh. Residual swelling…_

"The one time I saw her," Sango said in a nurturing, maternal tone, "she seemed to radiate happiness."

"Happiness…" the word was almost difficult to say. Foreign, both on his tongue and on his ears. "She does seem content… Not tainted by anger, or resentment… I've never met…anyone quite like that…" Cursed throat. It had swelled to the point of restricting speech. As if he didn't have enough injuries…

"There is something about a child's laughter that lifts the spirit," Sango mused reverently, hitting what he'd been trying to figure out, dead on.

"Yes. There is."

"And they have a way of loving, unconditionally."

He thought about how caring the human girl was when she found him wounded in the woods, giving him food that she needed desperately. A small ache formed in his chest as he remembered, overshadowing the blaring pain of his flesh wounds. "Hai."

"Sesshoumaru."

"Hn."

"You're not stuttering anymore."

His eyes blinked open in surprise, and he lifted the finger of his only remaining hand to his busted lips…only they weren't busted now. _You've got to be kidding me,_ he though incredulously. _Is there something she's doing to me that I'm not aware of?_

Still feeling pain in his body, he looked down at his torso and legs which were still as mangled and nasty looking as the last time he'd seen them.

"Don't worry. We're not finished yet," Sango said with a hint of amusement in her voice.

He turned his head to peer confusion at her through the corner of his eye. "How did you do that?"

She tapped his chest softly with her hands and gave a quick squeeze with her arms and legs. It made the blood rush to his face, reminding him of the way his older sister used to coddle him when he was little. Oh, how it used to piss him off… Showing such a ridiculous amount of affection to the alpha son of the tribe, just because he was smaller, having no regard or respect whatsoever for how undignified it made him look…

Oddly though, the memory elicited a mental smirk. He reluctantly admitted that it wasn't so bad…being touched like this. The demon hunter's embrace was unwavering. Sure. All-encompassing. And even though it was a physical gesture, he couldn't deny that it felt like she was somehow filling up chasms in his soul that he never realized were there. Perhaps she knew what she was doing after all.

"Sesshoumaru," she urged gently, tugging him back again until his head was relaxing against her left shoulder. "Your mother… Are the memories you have of her so terrible?"

"No," he insisted without pause. "No. She was…" he paused to remember. For so long, all he'd carried in his mind's eye was how she was in those last terrible moments before death claimed her. Angry. Vengeful. Desperate. He used the visuals to motivate him to continue onwards, replaying them over and over like some macabre mantra. So much so, that he… "Gods," he said in rising panic. "I can't remember."

"Yes you can," Sango said, the breath of her words fluttering against his cheek. "Rest your eyes, and relax your mind."

He exhaled heavily and did as she said. Bits and pieces started to come to him, a whirlwind of buried memories, throwing lost images and forgotten moments up on a psychological collage. To his immense relief, he was right.

"No, she wasn't terrible," he whispered, recalling his matriarch's broad white smile, and mischievous eyes. "She was irreverent, loud…" he couldn't stop the muscles in his face from lifting the corners of his mouth, "obnoxious, troublesome…"

A certain memory of a spiked drink, and a drunk uncle made him smile outright. It was the one and only time he'd seen someone actually piss on a holy shrine. Oi, she was a prankster…

"Impish, playful, vexatious… But more than all those things," he said more somberly, "my mother was loyal…to her tribe, her husband, and her…her _children_..." He had to swallow past that damned swell in his throat again, as he considered that perhaps the elusive sentiment of 'love' wasn't so foreign after all. There was a time in his life when he'd been the recipient of plenty of it.

And he suddenly knew with startling clarity that his fears…his insecurities had been unfounded all these years. His mother would never have turned on him like that. Never.

"I…I see," the huntress breathed, letting pass a moment of silence.

Was it his imagination, or did her voice seem choked? Strained?

"So that's why you carry her pelt with you always?"

He cringed inwardly. The fur. It was rent in twain. He had a vague memory of Sango, as she channeled that power…_the_ power…watching it manifest in ki blasts that spewed forth from her very palms. They had seared right through it. 

He exhaled the tension, accepting that it was destroyed. The huntress was still waiting for an answer. "Added powers, to remind me of my revenge, a relic of my heritage… All those things."

Sango rested her cheek against his temple, and rocked him gently, back and forth. And a dim remnant of his former self couldn't believe he was letting her. "Maybe it's time to take strength in the things that build you up instead of tear you down."

"What are you saying?"

"Let go of your revenge, Sesshoumaru. It's leeched whatever potential happiness you could have had, and has skewed your sense of right and wrong all these years. You know that Inuyasha is innocent of the crimes against your family," she consoled with utmost confidence. "Besides, there is more to live for than the past."

He thought had it been any other circumstance, he would have punished her for such audacious words. But in this place, and this moment, they sounded unexpectedly rational. Wise. And he was starting to see the connection now to the empowering sensation he would get when his mind wasn't mired in his history.

Like right now. He could feel Sango's fingers tapping absently against his ribs, and the light puff of her exhalations on his cheek. And there was something so comfortable, and soothing about this closeness. So warm. He suddenly wondered what her scent would be like if she weren't drenched in the musky earth smell of his own blood.

"So," Sango started in a much lighter tone - a tone of casual conversation. "What is it that you do all day when you're not trying to kill your brother?"

He frowned, and opened his eyes at her. "What does that have to do with anything?"

She smiled at him…and he thought - objectively, of course - that there wasn't a better expression suited for her face, bloodied and dirty though it was. "Absolutely nothing. I was just curious, and since your guard was already down…"

"I thought you were concentrating on healing me."

"You're already healed."

He stiffened. Slowly, he looked down at his body. His left bicep had stopped leaking from where his arm had been severed. His chest, abdomen, legs…all blotched with drying blood, but completely and totally void of open wounds. Hell. He couldn't even detect a scratch. And naturally, the pain was also gone. Sesshoumaru bent his knees, and brought his legs up, and then stretched them again. They worked fine. He didn't realize he'd been holding his breath until he released it in a long, relieved exhale.

He was whole. Well, almost…

"So you think you can glue your arm back on?" she asked, uncurling her limbs from around him. He shivered involuntarily as the cool air hit the skin that she'd been touching. A small part of him regretted that their contact had to be broken so abruptly...

Sesshoumaru wasn't _about_ to ponder why.

He leaned forward, and rolled up to his feet, somewhat annoyed at how his own hair tickled his bare back. His tattered attire was a poignant reminder of how badly he'd been beaten - betrayed by his own subconscious, no less.

Sango stood behind him, and without flinching went to retrieve his detached limb. She picked it up, and studied it. "So what kind of creature did you get _this_ from?" She grimaced at the number of bite marks in the thing before tossing it to him.

He caught it without taking his eyes off her, and re-adhered it to his bicep. "A careless youkai who challenged the wrong individual," he answered with a mental smirk, feeling a tad more like himself. The demonic rejuvenation powers that he'd been robbed of prior, had now returned. He was relieved when he felt them working on the limb, reconnecting tendons, nerve endings, outer skin... After several seconds, it had mended enough for him to use it at will.

Sango had gathered the other items that belonged to him, and sauntered over with Tensaiga, hilt first. He took it from her, and sheathed it. His belt was the one item that had somehow avoided being ripped to shreds. Were it not for that, he'd be walking out of here naked.

Sango held his mother's ruined pelt up, and gave Sesshoumaru a good once over, quirking her brow at his tattered state. "You don't have a place for this," she said matter-of-factly, wrapping the fur in her own sash. For some reason, it didn't bother him that she had it. He didn't know that he'd ever be able to carry it with him again, after seeing how it had been his downfall…

"Let's get the hell out of here, shall we?" Sango asked companionably, hitching her gigantic boomerang in its holster on her back.

He would like nothing more. Together they went to the edge of the sanctuary to scout out their next course, and Sesshoumaru's eyes widened marginally when he saw where they were.

A great cloudy wall loomed in the distance. It curved upwards and downwards, swirling with clashing winds and ghoulish debris. "That's it. That's the rim," he said in mild astonishment. There was an even ground between here and there, with the occasional pit, and rock outcropping. It looked unmolested, though he doubted severely that such was the case.

He looked over to Sango standing next to him. Her eyes were locked on their destination - serious, longing, determined… He considered her efforts in healing him, and her previous indifference to whether or not she lived or died.

"You finally decided that living was better than dying, it seems." he said.

Staring straight ahead, her eyes crinkled in warmth. "You could say that," she said quietly. "Though if that were my only incentive to heal you, then you would have bled to death, demon." She turned, and looked at him knowingly, a kind curve to her mouth.

He schooled his face in indifference, though inside he was marveling at how well she read him already…putting another psychological bandage on a spiritual ache he didn't even want to acknowledge was there. That is, if she was suggesting what he believed she was…

_Were you worried about me…?_ He wondered, but couldn't allow himself to ask it. He shouldn't have even cared.

"Sesshoumaru," she said intensely, locking him in her stare, "I want you to know that you can trust me. I'll guard your secrets."

It was respect, he realized. And he wasn't surprised to find that it was mutual. He nodded once, a silent thank you, and faced their last stretch. Without further words shared, they walked out of the light territory and into the dark.

* * *

** **

"It can't have been this easy," Sango said in dubious alarm as she stood firm against the whipping winds, the reflective rim of the Shikon no Tama facing them like an upright lake. "No invasions. No last-minute attacks. There has to be a catch-"

"Give me your hand," Sesshoumaru yelled against the air friction, entwining his fingers inside of hers. Muttering a silent prayer to his ancestors, he held their arms up and touched the rim with their fingertips.

They held their breath as they met resistance. Sesshoumaru was almost about to curse his luck when the liquid wall around them started to shimmer, and ripple outwards. A split second later, the rim ripped.

They were abruptly washed in a white light, brighter than the noonday sun. And through squinted eyes he beheld the giant tear before them. It worked. Sango made a happy whooping noise beside him, and without wasting further time, he tugged her after him…

…only to have her violently yanked out of his grasp.

"Sango!" he cried, spinning around, only to see a black, slithering tentacle toss her body inside a toothy cavernous mouth. The realm beast was massive…a cross between a ghoul and an octopus. It was terrible. Evil incarnate. It would no doubt kill him if he tried to rescue her.

Besides…she was probably already dead.

He looked at the exit. Opened. Waiting for him to walk through, and meet Rin and Jaken somewhere on the other side. He looked back at the impossible odds of rescuing an individual who he shouldn't have thought twice about...

Decision made, he acted.


	6. Amistad

**CHAPTER 6 **

_Amistad_

* * *

"_Share_, Shippo..." Kagome said sternly, wagging her finger at the little fluffy-haired fox demon. "There's enough there for the both of you." 

Shippo frowned at her in offended protest, and then glared at the little human girl standing next to him. "But she's with _him_-"

A small toad-like demon rolled his eyes nearby, muttering something about insufferable creatures.

Kagome put her hands on her hips and quirked her brow. "They're not here to cause trouble, and you know that."

Shippo pursed his lips, and with a defeated sigh, handed over three cans of play-do to young Rin. She looked at them curiously, and Kagome popped the lids off for her. "You mold it into shapes, like this," she said as she demonstrated with the brightly colored dough. The girl's eyes lit up, and she hesitantly took it from the older female's hands.

After a couple moments of toying with it, Rin's lips curled into a delighted smile. "Jaken!" she cried, and ran over to the ornery youkai. "Look what I got!"

Jaken feigned indifference, but Kagome didn't miss that once he looked at it, he couldn't take his eyes off the play-do as Rin molded it. Satisfied that she'd done some good in alleviating their anxiety over Sesshoumaru's absence, Kagome took off towards Kaede's hut.

It had been two days since she came through the well. Two days since she and Inuyasha had become something _more…_ Naraku was defeated, the village safe, the day was clear and beautiful. But none of those things did much to ease the tension in their shoulders, or lift the melancholy faces of their little visitors, or erase the feeling of dread she got when she thought of Sango…

Trapped in a place none of them knew much about, and with a youkai who had wished nothing but harm on their little fellowship, no less. Alive, dead… _No_, Kagome reprimanded herself heatedly. _NOT dead. Sango is nothing, if not a survivor…_

Lost in her thoughts, her feet had subconsciously carried her to the shrine where the Shikon no Tama was being kept. She tilted her head back to study the bamboo walls and thatched roof. Small ensigns and sacred trinkets littered the doorframe, designating it as a holy and protected place. It drew her in, and before she knew it, she was inside its darkened room, facing the jewel. It didn't twinkle, or glow, leaving her senses to be assaulted by how musky it was inside. The place was filled with enchanted powders, and sanctified prayer sheets to protect it from those with evil hearts.

Not that it mattered. Evil heart, good heart, the magical orb was impervious to outside influence. Even hers. Out of desperation, she had held it, kissed it, slept with it, but the thing didn't respond to her purification powers. It just looked like a dull, gray marble.

"Hard to believe it's the same jewel, ne?"

Kagome startled at the somber voice behind her and spun around. Leaning casually against the back wall with his arms folded across his chest, was Inuyasha. His coloring was different in the dark hut, making his hair a dark gray, and his crimson attire an almost black rust. He would have seemed enigmatic, had his expression not been so open and honest.

Ever since she'd kissed him upon her return, he had been a lot less volatile around her, like he no longer felt as though he had something to prove. Or defend.

She enjoyed the change. Her expression softening, she smiled sadly. "Hai."

A moment of shared silence passed between them. Things were still wonderfully new in their budding relationship, and despite how well she knew him, she still found herself blushing shyly on occasion in his presence. Especially when they were in a dark place like this…alone.

"You usually don't come in here, Inuyasha," she said, trying to focus on something other than the tingling in her tummy his presence now evoked.

"Hn. Well, Miroku finally decided to take a walk."

"Ah." The monk had been spent a good deal of time with Kaede studying the Shikon no Tama, trying to draw their friend out with incantations and spells. It had left him withdrawn and rather serious since the battle. It seemed he cared for Sango a good deal more than he let on.

"So Rin and Jaken are staying, eh?" the hanyou asked abruptly.

She nodded in response. "They're worried about your brother-"

"Keh. Don't call him that. I don't claim that bastard as kin." The words were reflexive, but there was no bite to them. It suddenly made Kagome wonder if the siblings would ever reconcile.

"You know," she began cautiously, toeing some pebble on the floor in an effort to project naïve innocence, "watching you two fight…side by side when we went at Naraku… You were a quite a force to be reckoned with."

He made a disgusted noise in typical Inuyasha fashion, and another silence passed between them. _Well, _she thought in mild disappointment. _It was worth a try_. She was about to expound a little on her relationship with her own brother, but he spoke first.

"From what I heard," he said quietly. Seriously. "…the force to be reckoned with was _you_, Kagome."

She looked up to see his eyes narrowed in warmth. Lingering admiration for her part in the battle. It made the blood rush to her face. "I didn't…I barely remember," she began to stammer, blushing.

"Kagome…" He locked her in his stare, causing the pitter patter of her heart to quicken, and then opened his arms invitingly. Two seconds later, she found herself wrapped up in his warm embrace. The hanyou's hugs felt so good, it was a wonder she'd ever felt whole without them. His head bent next to her ear, and she could hear his long, deep inhalation of her scent. Always her scent. It made her smile in shy amusement. It must not have been all that bad if he was so crazy about it.

His chest expanded under her palms, and she closed her eyes as he exhaled, his breath tickling her neck. It redirected the rest of her scattered thoughts on one thing - and that was him. He made her feel so alive, she couldn't imagine a life without him.

Kagome blinked. _A life without him…_ "Inuyasha," she whispered in his shirt as her heart began to ache. "What if, after the Shikon no Tama is used... What if the well stops working, and I can't return?"

He stiffened, no doubt hearing the words she didn't say - would they ever be able to see each other again when it was all said and done? "Idiot," he reprimanded softly, pulling back enough to frown down at her. "Don't think about that right now."

It put his face a heated inch away from hers, causing that familiar warmth to ignite in her abdomen and course all the way to the tips of her toes. Hopefully he didn't expect a coherent response, because his blatant proximity inebriated her. Kagome's eyelids grew heavy, and suddenly all she could think about was the soft, fevered texture of his lips.

A slight smirk lifted the corners of his mouth, and a knowing look crinkled his eyes. She blinked lazily, and some dim part of her was embarrassed that she was being so obvious. But it was squashed out immediately as he lowered his face and kissed her.

With an arm around the small of her back and the other raising to comb clawed fingers through her hair, he intensified it. Angling his head, he manipulated and maneuvered hers, working the liplock with a smooth aggression. Kagome figured it was a good thing he'd pinned her body against him because his kiss sucked the strength right out of her legs.

He felt her knees buckle, and made a small, self-satisfied 'Hm' against her mouth, arching her slightly back. She might have commented on his ego, but her coherence was swept up in that blissful oblivion she'd come to associate with Inuyasha's intimacy. Not much could have distracted them at that point. Not much at all.

Or so she thought…

It took them a few seconds to notice it, but when they did, Kagome and Inuyasha both gasped, breaking the embrace. It started as a sound. A growing whine that crescendoed into and outright roar. Adrenaline coursed through her veins as Inuyasha's eyes widened and fixed on something behind her. Kagome spun around.

"The…the Shikon no Tama!" she cried, staring in alarm at the orb that was now vibrating in its pronged holder. They both tensed as the air around them crackled, and spat, raising the hair on Kagome's arms. It gave her the impression that a presence was in the room with them…or about to be.

Clearly sensing danger, Inuyasha didn't waste time using the door. He hooked her in his arm and deliberately sprung back into the wall, crashing them right through it. Accustomed to being rescued, she clutched at him as he landed upright on a pile of bamboo splinters and twine.

"Whatever it is," he panted, "it's getting bigger."

"And louder!" Kagome screamed over the unidentifiable, thundering sound. She held her breath as the shrine's walls quivered, the thatched roof fragmented, a brilliant light fluttered on and off inside…

A moment later, it exploded.

Inuyasha held his arm up to shield them from flying debris as it rained about them like sleet. When the initial wave passed, they looked back through the foggy haze of a decimated structure. Inuyasha startled, and Kagome's jaw dropped.

Standing where the shrine used to be was a monstrous, white dog. A glorious and terrifying creature, its shiny fur tendrils were tainted crimson with blood, while nasty gashes could be seen in its flanks and sides. Its great, rolling eyes scanned the village and its inhabitants, who were mute with shock. Then, huffing exhaustedly, the mighty beast pawed at the ground.

"Sesshoumaru!" Inuyasha cried, flinging Kagome protectively behind him. "Where the hell is…"

A rumbling growl from the dog interrupted him, and when its lip twitched angrily over its teeth, Kagome saw something that made her gasp with horrified denial. An arm. A human arm, ripped and torn, dangling from between the dog's cruel fangs. Someone was inside its mouth.

_Sango!_

Before they could act, the giant dog demon shimmered and blurred in front of their eyes. His lining became ambiguous, vague…a swirl of sparking gases that began to condense, and shrink. Kagome watched mutely from behind Inuyasha's tense form as the dispersed matter solidified again. There kneeling in the rubble of the shrine was Sesshoumaru in his human form, with Sango clutched tightly to his chest.

Were it not for his long, white mane, she wouldn't have even recognized him. Inuyasha began to advance, but was halted in his tracks as Sesshoumaru barked at him. Literally. Even in his human form, the youkai's face was still feral; eyes red, stripes black, lips curled up over angry, glistening fangs…

After seeing Sango caged inside the great dog's jaws like that, Kagome was still battling with thoughts of her friend being eaten by the demon…ridiculous though they were. Thank heavens Inuyasha was more in tune with his instincts, and something must have told him to keep his distance.

It was almost surreal. The demon brother, who projected nothing less than radiant elegance, with an unwavering dignified composure…

Was ripped to shreds. His shirt, his armor, his insignias…all gone. What was left of his pants were laying in tattered strips against the skin of his thighs. And just like the skin of his upper body, it glistened with a heady cocktail of blood and sweat that even _she_ could smell.

Without his attire, she noticed that his chest, his legs, his arms were unexpectedly thick with muscle. More bulky than trim. His usual projection of unnatural effeminate beauty was replaced by something cruder. More masculine. Barbaric.

Kagome shuddered.

Draped in his arms like a wet towel, was Sango. Her thick, black hair was loose from its ponytail, sticking to them both in wet, bloodied clumps. She looked worse than he did, Kagome thought with nauseating alarm. There was no movement from her whatsoever…not even a rise and fall of her chest.

_Gods…please, no…_

Sesshoumaru bent over Sango's form almost protectively, listening for… A heartbeat? Breath? 

Kagome choked back a sob. "No… She can't be… She's not…not…" She clenched her hands in fists and scrunched her eyes closed. "SANGO!"

She felt Inuyasha's arms around her immediately, and he curled her up against his chest without a word. He knew. She knew he did. He could sense life, and he could smell death. She clutched at him desperately…the denial still on her lips.

The patter of running feet forced her attention elsewhere, and she turned in Inuyasha's embrace to see none other than Miroku charging towards Sesshoumaru, his face contorted in a grimace of distressed rage.

"BASTARD!" he screamed, swinging his staff maliciously in the air. "What did you do to her?"

A deep guttural snarl emanated from Sesshoumaru's throat, and he glared at the monk with a barely retained fury. "Keep him BACK, Inuyasha!"

Kagome was dizzily spun aside as Inuyasha leapt at Miroku. He caught the monk, mid-leap and bracketed his arms from behind. Miroku fought and hissed at his captor, inarticulate protests frothing at his tongue. It was the first time Kagome had seen him be anything less than eloquent, and it sent a shiver down her spine.

Even Inuyasha had trouble holding him, his face reddening from the strain. "She's already dead, you idiot!" he snapped at Miroku. "Just…WAIT!"

Kagome's head swiveled on her neck. _Wait for what?_

The news of Sango's death hit Miroku like an avalanche. With a choked whimper, the monk slackened, his jaw clenched and eyes shimmering. Then with redoubled efforts he lunged against his restraints. "I'll kill you, you filthy youkai!"

Sesshoumaru acted as though he hadn't heard him, his gaze locked on Sango's swollen and lifeless face. Seemingly finding what he was, or wasn't looking for, Sesshoumaru laid the exterminator gently on the ground and stood to his full height. Without taking his gaze off their friend's corpse, he unsheathed his sword - the one he hated - and raised it over her body.

The demon lord then swiped at her…or the air above her, and Kagome didn't see them until he hit them. Dissipating apparitions…slug-like creatures that had been hovering hungrily over the huntress. A dim understanding flickered in the chaos of the moment, and there was hushed awe as Sango's body began to heal itself.

Kagome's felt her jaw drop. _It heals people…_ And then out loud to no one in particular, "The sword heals people…" She wasn't even going to start pondering the irony of who the sword belonged to, because at that point all her attention was on Sango.

Even from her distance, Kagome saw the wounds heal up. The bloated, blue swelling of the huntress's face went down. Her skin regained color, shape, and firmness until her body was sturdy and whole. And all the while Sesshoumaru stood over her, watching…waiting…

Then finally, Sango opened her eyes.

* * *

Her awareness returned like a douse of freezing water. Her body tensed, and Sango's lids flung open and immediately squinted against the brightness of the sun. The disorientation began there.

_The sun?_

Where was the darkness? The claustrophobia? The ominous atmosphere…? Then she saw him standing there, sword in hand, silhouetted black against the blinding rays. "Sess…Sesshoumaru?" she asked, sitting in an upright position. When she moved, she noticed that she was sticky with blood…_fresh_ blood, and her clothes were littered with tears. What the hell happened? Where were they?

"Is this…" she held up a clump of hair matted to her chest, "Is this your blood?" she asked in alarm, noticing that he was covered in it, too.

"Some."

The tone of his voice triggered her memory, and it all came back to her. "The realm beast..." she breathed, wide-eyed. It had snatched her at the last possible moment, away from the exit…away from him… Then pain. Unbearable pain, and after that, nothing… Either they were both dead, or "You…saved me, Sesshoumaru?"

His expression was still hidden in shadow, but she saw his fingers twitch slightly at her question. Before he could answer, the air was violently displaced beside her as someone nearly barreled her over.

"Sango!" Kagome cried, crouching down in the dirt next to her. Shippo was soon to follow, hopping into her arms. He whimpered like a pup against her shoulder, and she absently patted his head. Kagome cradled Sango's other hand in both of hers, and blinked the water from her eyes. "You're safe!"

Sango tried to smile reassuringly, but was far too distracted by the shoulder-length bob that was Kagome's hair. "You...you cut your hair, my friend..."

Kagome blushed, and nodded sheepishly. "Don't ask."

Sango nodded her approval and then noticed Kaede off in the distance, breathing relief. She was about to acknowledge her when a shadow blanketed them from behind. She turned and saw Miroku, disheveled, and flushed, panting as though he'd just run a race. He crouched down and studied her expression. Hard. Then he looked at her hands…her arms…her legs… Apparently satisfied that she was well, he plunked down in the dirt dazedly and clutched at his heart. "He…healed you," he breathed, looking immensely relieved. "I…" pant, cough, "I thought-"

"Sesshoumaru-sama! Sesshoumaru-samaaaa!"

They all turned to see a little blur of raggedy clothes and bouncing pigtail skip towards them. Sango smiled internally, recognizing Rin. The child slammed right into Sesshoumaru's bloodied calve, and wrapped her tiny arms around his knee. An ear-splitting smile broadened her delightful face, and she giggled with all the merry enthusiasm of a happy reunion.

Jaken followed, slightly more dignified, but not much. He at least respected the youkai's personal space.

Sango stole a quick glance at Sesshoumaru, whose expression was clear now that her eyes had adjusted to the daylight. He was rigid, with the slightest knot in his brow as he looked down at the sweet little urchin girl attached to his leg. Sango saw his inner conflict as clearly as the wounds on his body.

_Ah, give the girl a hug…_ she urged silently, knowing that if she said the words out loud, he would be forced to save face in front of all the bystanders.

Sesshoumaru pursed his lips, his chest lifting and falling with a relenting sigh. Finally, he covered the top of Rin's head with his large hand, patting it awkwardly. She tee-hee'd in delight, and hugged his leg more tenaciously, rubbing her cheek against his knee.

Sango repressed a contented grin. _There ya go. Nothing to be ashamed of._

Suddenly, the tender moment was interrupted by a derisive snort from none other than Inuyasha. "Keh. So it resurrects, eh?" The hanyou stood there with his arms folded arrogantly across his chest, barely concealing his intrigue with masked aloofness. "I was _wondering_ what that useless sword of yours did."

Sango startled. _I was dead?_ And more shockingly, _He brought me back to life?_

Sesshoumaru met his gaze evenly. Silently. Projecting without words the utter self-assurance that he'd gained in the realm from which they'd come. Sango suddenly realized how noble the youkai looked. There was something about the way he stood there, without all the adornment, neatness, or weaponry… Just _him_… bloodied and battle-honed like a god of war. He finally radiated majesty, and it had nothing to do with insignias, relics, or magical swords…

And Sango knew, in that moment, that Sesshoumaru was putting something behind him. She saw it in his stance, in his posture, in the way he looked at his brother _without_ those murderous red pinpricks in his eyes…

_Good for you, Sesshoumaru. You might find happiness yet…_

His brow twitched, as though remembering something. "Inuyasha. Tell me where Naraku is."

Sango blinked and stared. Naraku. How could she have forgotten? Their journey through the Shikon no Tama had distracted her, indeed.

Inuyasha smirked, his chest puffing up. Sango was anticipating a self-declaration of sibling superiority, or ruler of the universe, when the hanyou jerked his chin in none other than Kagome's direction. "She killed him," he said with an almost possessive pride. "Blasted him all the way to hell."

Sango choked, and even Sesshoumaru's eyes widened marginally.

Kagome's cheeks turned about five shades of red as she batted at the air in front of her like it was no big deal. "Well…heh…it's not like I _remember_ any of it… Really."

"Your humility is noble, Kagome-sama," Miroku said firmly, for the first time directing his attention on someone other than Sango, "but that doesn't make the event any less impressive."

"Ah, well…" Kagome averted her eyes, uncomfortable with the surrounding attention of her friends, and villagers. And in doing so, she noticed something that everyone seemed to have forgotten. "Oh!"

Without explanation, she hopped up, and ran over to a portion of the rubble where the shrine used to be. Bending down curiously, she shifted away a few splintered bamboo chutes, and her face was immediately blanketed in a soft glow. It hit Sango about the same time that it hit everyone else. Even Sesshoumaru tensed.

_The Shikon no Tama!_

"Funny," Kagome said. "It still looks…different…"

Remember in vivid detail the nightmare from which they'd just escaped, Sango cried out, "Maybe-you-shouldn't-touch-it-Kagome!"

But the young miko already had it in her hand, an innocent smile lighting her face. She studied the shiny orb in her fingers, and then held it up for everyone to observe. "See? It's sta…ble… _Aaiieee_!"

It happened so fast, even Inuyasha's frantic lunge didn't intercept the occurrence. The orb flicked twice, and then it seemed to melt into her very skin. Absorbed right into her fingers. Her hand immediately began to glow with a fierce yellow illuminance that proceeded to encompass her entire body. She levitated a foot off the ground, her shoulder-length hair standing on end against her scalp. Her face froze in a bewildered panic, while everyone else's set in awe. Finally, the aura flicked twice and dissipated, gravity once again claiming her and yanking her down.

Inuyasha caught her up in his arms, no doubt afraid of losing her to the dark realm. "Idiot! Why the hell would you touch it after what happened to Sango?" And then more softly. "What happened? Are you okay?"

"I'm fine…" she said, blinking dazedly. "I think…"

The girl was abruptly swamped by people. Curious people who were trying to assimilate what just happened, and where exactly the powerful jewel was. Shippo jumped off her lap, and Sango made to go over there when she noticed that someone was missing. Someone important.

_Sesshoumaru…_

Her head swiveled on her neck until she saw him, walking away with Rin and Jaken skipping along behind. It seemed wrong, for some reason. To watch him just leave like that, after all that they'd been through. Besides, she still had his mother's pelt looped in her sash.

While everyone focused on Kagome, Sango sauntered over to the departing demon.

* * *

Sesshoumaru strode purposefully away from the crowd, basking in the ever-familiar sound of Rin's trotting footsteps behind him, and Jaken's shuffle. This wasn't his village. These weren't his people. And now that Inuyasha's girl just unwittingly fused with the Shikon no Tama, ruining his chances of prolonging Rin's life, there was no reason for him to stay…

…which is why it was odd that he felt like he was leaving something unfinished. As though he was running away from…

"Sesshoumaru!"

_Her…_

Perhaps against his better judgment, he nodded at Jaken to continue on with Rin, and waited impatiently for the demon exterminator to catch up with him. Their business was finished, he told himself. It was only natural that they go their separate ways. What could she possibly have to say, anyhow?

Sango came to an easy stop next to him, her expression was anxious. Friendly. She radiated such palpable hospitality that it overshadowed the fact that the woman was smudged red with blood and monster intestines, or that her battle suit was now nothing but shredded rags.

It confused his senses, amongst other things.

Sango held out the relic of his matriarch. "Your mother's pelt-"

"It's shorn. I've no need of it," he said, having made the decision prior to her asking. Granted, there was more to it than just that, but he wasn't divulging anymore than he had to. She already knew enough.

"Ah, I see…"she looked down at the monstrous fur in her hands, and nodded. A less uncomfortable silence passed between them, and Sesshoumaru couldn't help but to remember how natural it felt…in the end…to walk by her side in that dark realm. She had seen more of his soul than anyone - been a witness to his weaknesses, his insecurities, his fears… And had accepted him, regardless. Without condition. It left him feeling perplexed, and something else he couldn't quite put his finger on.

Sango toed a pebble in the dirt, and chewed on her bottom lip. "You didn't tell me why you saved me from that realm beast," she asked quietly, lifting a questioning, almost hopeful gaze to his face. "Or how…"

He found himself tongue-tied. A strange sensation. The 'why' was easy, so he got it out of the way first. "I owed you my life. And now my debt is repaid," he said, feeling for some reason that wasn't the half of it…that the need to see her survive ran much, much deeper. But he pushed it back, focusing on the other inquiry, using it as a welcome distraction.

How. It was a fair question. One Sesshoumaru hadn't even thought to ask himself. He contemplated it. He'd been stronger in the end, thanks to her soul-healing. But that wasn't what enabled him to tear through a beast who should have done him in, and snatch Sango's dead body from its gut. He had gone berserk, tapping into a power supply he hadn't even known was there.

"I succeeded for the same reason that you defeated the ghoul that impersonated my mother-" Sesshoumaru stopped himself. He'd almost said, 'Because I didn't want you to die'. Not knowing what to do with the realization, he covered his discomfort with narrowed eyes. "Is that all?"

A slight pause, and she shook her head. "One more thing," she breathed, the familiar, rueful warmth that had enabled him to heal in the realm softening her features. He quirked a brow in question, unsure whether or not he wanted to flee or stay.

"I would be your friend, Sesshoumaru."

It took him a couple seconds to recover from the shock. "Why?"

"Because I've had a glimpse of the person you keep hidden from everyone," she said quietly. "And I like him."

Her words stole his breath, and made his chest ache. He nearly choked. The demon lord searched her face for some hidden agenda, for some vindictive, manipulative intent that was buried by such an altruistic request. But all he saw was her kind smile, sincere eyes, and honest expression. It left him dumbfounded.

"I…don't have friends."

She nodded, as though expecting that very response. "I know. But if you ever need one, Sesshoumaru, I'm here."

He stared stupidly. She was serious. And the response it elicited in him was nothing short of amazing. He suddenly felt taller. Stronger. More complete… Was he worth that much to this strange human? Someone who up until now had called him 'enemy'?

He had to get out of there before he did something the old Sesshoumaru wouldn't have approved of. As it was, he already felt a small, surprised smile tweak the corner of his mouth.

"Farewell, Sango."

She smiled knowingly, as though able to read his thoughts. He gave a mental snort, recalling how he'd opened his soul to her in the realm, revealing all. _'As though' indeed. She probably is…_

Before he was further tempted to stay, Sesshoumaru left her there, and walked briskly after Rin and Jaken. There was too much he needed to sort through before he acted on his impulses. And his impulses gave him the outrageous, unprecedented urge to do something selfless. Something for the sole purpose of making her happy.

Something very, _very_ 'not him'.

He walked blindly, caught up in the chaos in his head. _You're trying to change my world, Sango,_ he pondered bewilderedly, and then even more disturbing than that…

_And I'm letting you…_


	7. The Pleasure of Selfless Deeds

**CHAPTER 7 **

_The Pleasure of Selfless Deeds_

* * *

**TWO DAYS LATER**

Sango huffed exhaustion, and yanked the heavy pelt out of the river. Wringing it twice for good measure, she hucked it in the grass and plopped down on the bank, and rested her elbows on her knees. The huntress never thought the bloodstains would come out. She'd been scrubbing the damn fur since the apex of the sun, and it had just barely begun to make a difference.

The frustrating thing was that Sango could have used all those fancy soaps Kagome had brought back from her time. They had certainly done the trick in cleaning her right up, rinsing all the sticky grime from her body… Not to mention the delightful floral aroma that was left in her skin and hair.

But that was the problem. They smelled, and to taint a precious relic with their artificial scents was almost as offensive as leaving the dead unburied. It would turn her good deed into a mockery, and she couldn't do that to Sesshoumaru.

"Ah. There you are, Sango-chan."

She startled. That sweet, reverent voice always sent her heart fluttering, and she turned to see Miroku, with his long robes, and gentle demeanor approach and plunk down on the bank to her side.

"I was getting lonely back there, and wanted to enjoy your company," he said, an honest smile halving his face. He was always so confident. So self-assured. No doubt one of his most attractive features…well that, and those sparkling shadowy eyes… Not to mention that deceptively sweet boy face, or his handsome, white smile…

"…since they're together, and all. So I imagine Inuyasha and Kagome will stay an extra couple days in her time."

Sango blinked. He'd been talking? Why was it that every time they were alone, she felt like she had all the concentration of an infatuated teenager? She felt the blood rush to her face, and looked shyly at her ankles.

"So…" she scrambled for conversation, trying not to think about what they could be, instead of what they were, "Do you think it's as Kaede says? That Kagome will be immortal now that she absorbed the Shikon no Tama?"

"Ah, that…" His brow drew in the center, and she half wanted to kick herself for making him focus on something other than her. "This is unprecedented. But it _does_ enable her to come and go as she pleases, and I don't know about immortality, but prolonged life does sound plausible…"

Her thoughts suddenly went to Sesshoumaru, and his desire to turn Rin into a demon solely to prolong _her_ life. It made Sango wonder if his obvious reluctance with forming a friendship was due to her short, human lifespan. Not wanting to go through the pain of loss a second time, even if it was years in the future…

It made her sad. The pain he must have gone through as a child… She wondered if Kohaku, at his tender young age, would have cut himself off in a similar fashion had he been the sole survivor of their people.

"Sango," Miroku said intensely, startling her out of her thoughts. "You've said so little about what happened inside the Shikon no Tama. Are you sure you're…okay?"

So like him, she thought. His concern was nearly palpable, taking the form of a non-invasive, altruistic inquiry that hit her heart dead on. Was she okay? Truly? Considering it deeply for the first time since they'd gotten out, Sango realized that she was. "The attacks were very personal, Houshi-sama. The realm…it aimed to break the soul, and used our own thoughts…our fears, our…" she blushed, recalling the ghoul that impersonated Miroku, "_desires_…against us. But by surviving, we emerged with stronger spirits. More fortified souls. So yes, we're okay."

"_We're_ okay…" he noted curiously. "You and Sesshoumaru…"

Sango blinked. She wasn't even aware that she'd been including the demon lord in the retelling. Miroku had only asked after _her_ well-being, after all. Odd… It had just seemed natural. Not knowing how else to respond, she nodded.

An unidentifiable expression flitted across his face then, and his attention was drawn to the ripped fur laid out in the grass. "And here you are cleansing his pelt," Miroku mused out loud. "Do you plan on mending it?"

"Hai. It was his mother's. He discarded it like it meant nothing to him, but I know differently."

"Hmm…" He pursed his lips and studied her for a moment. "You care about him," he said quietly.

The words were startling to hear out loud. Especially trickling off of Miroku's lips. Her affection for the powerful youkai was innocent. Pure. Inevitable, after all they went through together. Why should she feel awkward discussing it?

Miroku sighed. "I'll admit, it's difficult to see the great demon lord as anything other than enemy. But if you claim him as friend, then I trust you. Besides, he _did_ bring you back to life. And for that, I'd spend the rest of my days as his servant, if he so asked."

Her flush darkened, "You…really feel that way, Houshi-sama?"

He locked her in his stare, smiling ruefully. "Hai."

"Oh…" Her heartbeat quickened as he took the initiative and inched closer. Then she stiffened as his arm slipped around her shoulders, pulling her against his side in a friendly embrace. It took her several seconds to assimilate that he was touching her without groping her, and then several more to relax enough to enjoy it.

He sighed comfortably, as though holding her like this was an everyday occurrence. "So what are your plans now, Sango-chan?"

"I…" _I can hear your heartbeat_, she thought, as her ear rested on his warm chest. With a quick mental shake, she tried to focus. "I need to return to my village to craft a new weapon, since Hiraikotsu was left behind. Also to mend Sesshoumaru's pelt." She paused momentarily to ponder what the youkai's reaction would be when he saw it.

"Would you like company?"

Her stomach flipped. A simple inquiry, yet littered with possibilities. Was he saying that he wanted to be with her? She couldn't tell. It was so hard to concentrate when he was holding her like this, asking such easily-misinterpreted questions. Damn her twitterpated heart.

"I would love your company, Houshi-sama," she whispered, and then mentally thwacked herself for forgetting something important. "But perhaps you can visit me later. There is something I have to do alone, while I'm there. Kohaku's soul…I don't know if his troubles followed him into the next dimension."

His hand caressed her shoulder reassuringly. "You wish to sanctify a grave for him, and then retrieve his body so it can rest in the land of your ancestors."

She was silently grateful that he was so well-versed in traditional customs, and holy rituals. Saved her from spelling out the circumstance of a subject that was still very sore. She nodded. "I'll leave in the morning."

It was then that her gaze was drawn to his long fingers as they curled around her bicep. The beads were gone, and the back of his hand was smooth from being covered by the holy seal that kept his air void closed.

"So how does it feel now that the kazaana is gone?" she asked, knowing it was no small adjustment.

"Well," he began, a hint of mischief in his otherwise innocent tone, "I was hoping you'd help me with that…"

He moved so subtly, that Sango didn't catch the intent of his words until a very sensitive and very fleshy part of her anatomy was unceremoniously squeezed.

A half-second later, Miroku was pitched headlong into the river.

* * *

**THE NEXT DAY**

The putrid waft of human decay filled Sesshoumaru's nostrils as he dropped the unearthed corpse at his feet. It mingled with the stale stench of hundreds of butchered youkai that still littered the old battleground in sickening, oozy clumps.

_Yes,_ he affirmed, trusting his insight into human frailty. _It was wise to leave Rin behind with Jaken._

"So this is the lad…"

The voice came from behind him, as warbled and dry as churning gravel. Its owner stepped slowly up to the body at his feet, swaddled from head to toe in the black, enchanted moss cloth of the scarab youkai - a creature that had migrated here centuries ago.

A gnarled, warty hand covered her mouth and nose. Piss-yellow eyes stared without emotion from within a shadowed hood, and she hovered over the lifeless form with a back that was already hideously hunched with age.

Sesshoumaru looked down at her through narrowed eyes. "Can you do it, witch?"

A few more moments of observation, and she eased back, wholly comfortable in the demon lord's presence. "Never toyed much with humans, pup."

He ignored the title. She'd called him that ever since he was small, being one of the few acquaintances of his father's that he'd kept tabs on. One never knew when they'd need such a powerful ally.

"But truth be told, their psyches aren't that different from youkai," she said and then snorted. "If at all. Though I assume you've already come to that conclusion if you're wasting my time on a human child." The curiosity inevitably came. "Why, Sesshoumaru?"

He unsheathed Tensaiga. "That is not your concern."

She laughed, a throaty rumble of a sound that was better suited for the shifting of the planet's plates than actual voice. "You. You're changing, young pup. Your mother's pelt, your tribe's insignias, traditional garb…all replaced by the simple, leather threading of a humble nomad. And the smell of hate that has tainted your presence for years has been softened with something gentler. Even _kind_…"

"Enough," he growled. Hearing that very observation from an individual who was so precariously balanced between good and evil was almost like being in the realm all over again. And he was through with mind games. A silence fell between them until she smirked and turned back to the body.

"So what memories am I to purge?"

He recalled what he knew of the boy's demise, and how Naraku had used the lad to slaughter his own kin. "They'll surface soon after he's brought back. You will see them in his face."

"And you're sure Tensaiga can resurrect him?"

He resisted the urge to tear her in half. "Do not mock me. You know it can."

She responded with another throaty chuckle. "So you learned that the nature of your blade was my suggestion to begin with," she said with an infuriating amusement. "Your father had hoped it would help to curb your bloodthirsty nature."

He glared at her, his free hand curling into a fist. How he hated dealing with the insolent old hag. Had she been anyone else…

"As long as the flesh is still on the bones, it will work," she confirmed, patting her atrophied belly. Then she reached in the heavy folds of her garb, and withdrew an opalescent orb the size of his fist. One of her many, mysterious trinkets. "This spell is powerful, pup, but so is the mind. There is a good chance that one day he'll remember, and it might drive him mad…"

Sesshoumaru had considered that, and hopefully by then the boy would be able to cope. But if not… "Then I'll be back to seek you out, witch."

"You'll have to keep me alive…"

"It is your payment. I already said I would."

"Very well. Now tell me the boy's name."

Sesshoumaru readied his blade. "His name is Kohaku."

* * *

** **

The old hag had worked her magics before they left, and told Sesshoumaru of Sango's exact whereabouts. He was unsurprised to hear that she'd gone to her old village. An appropriate meeting grounds for the precious cargo in his care.

It was evening when they arrived, the moonlight blanketing the village's clearing in an ethereal luminescent glow. The graves of the village's dead lined the walkways in an even fashion, all covered but one. He caught the scent of fresh unearthed dirt, and stared at a neat rectangular hole in the ground. It was decorated with holy trinkets, and prayer sheets, and he knew without being told that it was for Kohaku's body.

He smiled inwardly. _All that work to dig it, and it was all in vain._ He looked at the huts, and noticed the yellow flicker of a lamplight inside one of the structures.

Sesshoumaru suddenly felt anxious, and took a deep, calming breath. He would have rather just dropped the boy off, and avoided any awkward moment of gratitude. But after all Sango had been through, Sesshoumaru felt the need to arrive before the boy did, so he could prepare her emotionally...so that she knew no one was playing tricks on her like Naraku had.

The firecat appeared in the doorway of the building she was in, and it saw him. He anticipated a growl, or even an attack, but it just stood there, blinking at him in curious alarm. A second later, Sango materialized in the doorway, no doubt sensing his presence. After all, she'd been trained to feel for youkai.

Her hair was let down around her shoulders, and she wore a simple off-white kimono. It made her look unexpectedly soft. Even delicate. So unlike the woman he'd been trapped in the realm with. For some reason it made him tense up, as though she'd be a different person now.

She saw him. A brief expression of surprise crossed her face, and then it brightened with a sweet smile. He exhaled relief, wondering why he thought she'd be unhappy to see him. She'd asked for his friendship, hadn't she?

Sango made her way over to him, and he noticed with detached amusement that she almost trotted. That made three people in this world who were happy to see him. Jaken, Rin, and now her. He wished he understood why.

"Sesshoumaru," she said, stopping a breath away from him. She clasped her hands behind her back, and lifted her chin to peer openly at his face. "It's good to see you. I was wondering if you'd stop by one of these days," she smiled, her eyes crinkling with warmth.

He opened his mouth to respond, but had difficulty getting anything out. He still couldn't pinpoint exactly why he'd resurrected her brother, let alone put it into words. And the way the huntress was looking at him was so distracting. Like a soul-healing all over again.

Sango suddenly grabbed his hand, and winked at him. "I have something for you."

"You…do?"

"Mm-hmm." With that, she tugged him behind her, as comfortable in his presence as his own siblings had been. Not knowing what else to do, he followed her, noticing as he did so the light pulse of her heartbeat in her fingertips. Were all humans this alive?

They entered the hut from which she'd emerged, and he froze in the doorway. There, hanging on a rack in all its radiant splendor was his mother's pelt - as untouched and whole as the day he'd first put it on. All his practiced years of reticence couldn't stop his eyes from widening dramatically. "You…mended it…"

"All our weapons and armor are made out of youkai parts," she said, obviously pleased with her own handiwork. "It wasn't too hard, once I got the stains out…"

He was speechless, and watched in muted shock as she lifted the pelt off the wrack and brought it over to him. He raised his hand hesitantly, and ran his fingers along the soft fur. It was an old habit - one that he didn't realize he had until it was no longer draped across his right shoulder.

_My matriarch's pelt…_ His eyes stung for some odd reason, and he fought the urge to put it back where it had always been. On his person. "Why?" he asked, lifting his gaze to meet her eyes. "Why did you do this?"

She shrugged, reading his satisfaction with alarming perfection. She _did_ know him well. "I thought it would make you happy," she smiled and looked him up and down. Her hand raised to touch his dark leather garb, and tease the folds of his sleeve. "You're leaving your vendettas behind, aren't you Sesshoumaru?" she mused quietly. "That's why your new, simple clothing is void of all traces of your past…"

He stared at her, again disturbed by how well she read him. It was something he had barely admitted to himself the day before, and here she was, blurting it out like it was the most obvious conclusion in the world.

"Well, your new attire suits you. And you can leave the pelt here if you have no where else to put it… I can always place it in Midoriko's cave for safekeeping."

He almost choked this time. It was another truth she'd extracted from him without his awareness. He hadn't made a home since the day his family was slain, but how the hell did she know he was a wanderer?

She seemed amused by his stunned reaction, and with a smile turned to start putting away her tools. "I still have to build a new weapon, but I've decided to stay here…"

Her words faded out as he studied her, watching her move with an at-home ease within her shed, putting things in their proper places, and dusting off the workspace. He suddenly longed for that sort of comfort. A place he could stop by on occasion that would welcome him with friendly arms instead of fearful ones. A home _base_, if not an actual home. And if the pelt were in her care...

"Keep it here," he said, not realizing he interrupted her until she choked on her words. "For safekeeping."

She smiled knowingly. "I'd planned on it."

"Sango..."

"Hmm?"

"I did something," he began, realizing that the boy would be here any second. "Something that will affect you."

Her face straightened into an expression of serious curiosity. "What?"

"I brought someone-"

"NEE-CHAN!"

Sesshoumaru cursed inwardly, and watched as the blood drained from Sango's face.

"NEE-CHAN! NEE-CHAN!"

Her jaw dropped. Her eyes bugged, and Sesshoumaru was knocked aside as Sango rushed past him out into the clearing, and into the arms of an eleven-year old boy.

"KOHAKU!"

What followed was an incoherent cacophony of sobs and laughter, interspersed by the boy's choked attempt to explain how a dog demon told him he'd been brought back to life, but he didn't remember being dead, and so on…

Sesshoumaru collected himself and stood in the doorway, unable to peel his stare away. The scene triggered something inside of him. Something deep. Warm. Overwhelming. Knowing that he'd indirectly been the source of so much happiness was a euphoric sensation - more intoxicating that the rush of battle, or the symphonic thundering of a sky-high waterfall.

It gave him the sudden, ridiculous urge to go about resurrecting random individuals, just to see this kind of reunion over and over. Stupid, really. Utter foolishness.

He noticed Rin and Jaken had joined them with Uhn Uhn at the edge of the village. Rin's smile twinkled brightly in the moonlight, and her eyes shimmered with delight. He'd made her happy too, just by making Sango happy.

_Hn. Imagine that,_ he thought in repressed contentment. _This nonsense is contagious._

Sango finally released the boy, and caressed his cheek. Then she turned, and Sesshoumaru blinked as all her attention was redirected at him. Glistening, soft eyes, tear-streaked face, quivering lips…he nearly choked being the intended recipient of so much emotion.

She broke out into a run, charging him. Reflex made him nearly flee, but he held his ground, telling himself she wasn't going to attack him.

But he was wrong.

Instead of stopping on the perimeter of his personal space, she barreled right into it, and threw her arms around his ribs, trying to crush him.

He froze in mild panic. _What the...? Is this a trick? No. She's embracing me. Embracing. Out of gratitude. That's non-threatening..._ He exhaled. _Okay..._

Her hands clasped behind his back, and she buried her face against his chest. He stared stupidly down at the silky, raven crown of her head, not knowing what his part was in all this. The demon lord hadn't been a victim of spontaneous hugging since he was old enough to walk, and wondered crazily if this sort of random affection was all part of being 'friends'.

Her arms tightened around him, and she wiped her eyes on his shirt. "Thank you, Sesshoumaru," she whispered.

He shook his head, not knowing how else to respond. After several shocked seconds, he hesitantly placed a hand on her waist, and the other between her shoulder blades against her tresses. His thoughts were still scattered, as though every one of his senses was on high alert, but beneath it all he couldn't deny that being embraced like this felt…_nice_. Wholly different from how she'd held him in the realm, but with the same result. It made him feel unbelievably significant. More empowering than slaughtering entire armies with his bare hands.

He lowered his head, with the intent to speak, but instead was distracted by her scent. And _this_ time it was untainted with the smell of his own blood. Traces of a refiner's fire, eucalyptus, some residual floral aroma, and wet grass all swirled around the unique, musky sweetness of her effeminate, human scent.

His eyes closed. It was downright intoxicating. He barely noticed how his arms came full circle around her, or how he bent over her form, molding them together. Some part of him remembered that he'd been trying to tell her something before the boy burst into the scene, and so collecting what he could of his thoughts, he spoke through the inebriation.

"Sango," he whispered above her ear, "His memories…they've been repressed for now, but that…doesn't mean they won't surface. You will need to tell him…about your village, and how Naraku used him… Eventually…"

She nodded understanding, seemingly oblivious to the effect she was having on him. With one last squeeze, Sango unclasped her hands and released him. It took Sesshoumaru a moment to recognize that that was his cue to release her as well, and he stepped back, slightly ruffled, trying to regain his composure.

"You have no idea how much this means to me, Sesshoumaru…"

"Oh, I think you demonstrated it just fine."

She blushed, and pushed her bangs back from her forehead. Kohaku approached them now that they'd separated, and tugged on his sister's hand. "Ah, so you _do_ know each other!"

Sango laughed, and made a directional waving motion at the demon lord.

"Kohaku, the youkai who brought you home, is Sesshoumaru," she smiled and winked at him. "My good friend."


	8. Stand Tall

**CHAPTER 8 **

_Stand Tall_

* * *

**14 DAYS LATER**

"Sango-sama!"

The huntress startled, and pried her gaze off the sturdy youkai hide stretched over her workbench. Little Rin came skipping in the shop from outside, absolutely covered from head to toe in mud.

Distinct footprints were left in her wake, but Sango couldn't stop the chuckle that seeped out of her mouth when she saw the kid's rounded, smiling face.

_How can anything so dirty be so cute?_ She straightened her back from weapon-making, and walked over to the girl. "Looks like _you_ were helping Kohaku plow the garden…"

Rin nodded vigorously and hopped on her toes. "Look what I got!" A bushy assortment of vegetation popped up between them, more weeds than flowers. "I picked them for you, Sango-sama."

"Is that right," Sango smiled, crouching down to politely accept the bouquet from Rin's hands. "So _this_ is how you were helping Kohaku plant," she laughed, and shook her head. "Well, it's beautiful."

Rin giggled sheepishly, and clasped her fingers behind her back in shy delight. After a moment, her smile turned anxious. "I'll make one for Sesshoumaru-sama too...when he comes back."

Sango heard the underlying question in her words. "He should return shortly," she said with utmost confidence. The demon lord and Jaken had already left and returned twice in the past fourteen days, leaving Rin in Sango's care. And each time he came back, he seemed to spend more time at the village.

His initial uneasy presence had progressed comfortably, and she'd grown accustomed to his lingering company as she worked on her new boomerang. They'd even engage in conversation - granted, the topics of which usually touched on demonic nature, and human folklore, but still...

Conversations. With Sesshoumaru. It was nuts.

Turns out, he spent his time doing just what she'd been trained for. Exterminating troublesome youkai. They had their different reasons for it, but the slaying was a huge common ground, only further cementing them in this unbelievably natural friendship. Sango knew, without making it official, that he had made some sort of home here, and she was increasingly glad of his company.

Not to mention how nice it was to have young Rin around. The child's laughter seemed to breathe life into the dead village. Even Kohaku smiled around her on occasion, which was encouraging considering how depressed he'd been ever since she told him everyone in the village was slaughtered.

Of course, _his_ part in that slaughter would be left for another telling, on another day. It didn't take a wiseman to know it was just too soon.

"Nee-chan!"

Sango looked up as Kohaku stopped behind Rin in the doorway. His hands were caked with dirt from gardening, and his knees weren't much better. His expression was anxious.

"There's a group of people here to see you, nee-chan. They called me by name, but I don't know them…"

"What?" She stood slowly, and placed the bouquet on the table behind her. Rin blinked up curiously, and Sango placed a hand absently on her shoulder. "What do they-"

"One girl has really strange clothes. The other is a monk, with a little kitsune-"

Sango clapped a hand to her mouth. She'd told Miroku to come after several days. How could she have forgotten? A huge grin broadened her face, and Kohaku quirked a brow.

"You know them?"

"Of course I do!" She pushed past him and out into the clearing to see four very familiar and surprised faces. Sango laughed, and waved vigorously. She had a lot to tell.

* * *

** **

"Keh! Bastard probably just needed a babysitter," Inuyasha said bluntly, not caring one iota that Rin was sitting right there.

Sango's mouth opened in appall, Miroku sighed and shook his head, Shippo rolled his eyes, and Kagome did something that blew them all away.

Or more specifically, blew _Inuyasha_ away. Literally. Clear across the way and splintering through two and a half bamboo huts.

Sango gaped as dust kicked up from the debris, followed by the crashing sound of whatever it was that broke his fall. Kagome's face turned scarlet in embarrassment, staring at the offending hand as though surprised to find it attached to the end of her wrist. "Oops…"

"Oi, Kagome... He's gonna be pissed," Shippo muttered.

Miroku watched the hanyou curse and scramble out of the rubble as though it was an every day occurrence. "Kagome-sama," he counseled in an even tone, "you really need to refrain from using your instinctive gestures when you get mad."

Kagome bit her bottom lip, tossing a nervous glance in Inuyasha's direction. "I forgot…"

Sango gawked at them all. "What just happened? How did Kagome do that?"

"That's nothing!" Shippo chimed up, hopping on his little fox feet. "You should see it when she shoots lightning out of her hands!"

Sango choked. "Lightning?"

Kagome curled into herself, and nodded ruefully. "But _that's_ easier to control."

"IDIOT!" Inuyasha stomped back over to the grouping, absolutely livid. Dust particles and wood splinters radiated off his angry form in layers. "What did you do that for?"

"I didn't mean to hit you so hard," then Kagome tossed a quick glance at wide-eyed Rin, and her face shifted from apologetic to angry. "But you shouldn't have said…"

The ensuing argument between the two blurred into the background as Miroku leaned over to Sango and said under hushed tones, "Absorbing the Shikon no Tama has equipped our friend with some dangerous powers," he explained.

"I noticed…"

Kagome's words got louder, and Inuyasha's language got worse. Sango resisted the urge to cover Rin's ears and made eye contact with Kohaku. "Maybe you can take Rin for a ride on Kirara, eh?"

After a moment's hesitation and astonished appraisal at the latest list of invective that spewed from the hanyou's mouth, Kohaku nodded and grabbed Rin's hand.

"Wanna go for a ride on the fire cat?"

Her face lit up. "YES!"

"I wanna come, too," Shippo piped up, no doubt having missed the great white animal.

As the three trotted off, and Sango turned to Miroku, whose gaze was already studiously locked on her.

"So you've been working on a new weapon?" he asked.

Sango nodded, distracted by the nearby arguing. She cocked her head in the direction of the workshop. "Want to see?"

He was suspiciously up on his feet before she even finished her question. "Hai!"

It didn't occur to her until they stepped through the doorway of her place how private it was. And how alone they suddenly were. Ignoring the quickened patter of her heart, and the palpable presence of the man behind her, Sango traced her finger along the humungous jawbone of a centipede youkai.

"It's half sawed down, and I think I'll shape it a tad sharper, this time…"

He bent over it, his admiring eyes scanning her work, and then lifting to scan her. "Ah, Sango-chan. It is rare indeed when a woman can possess such beauty, and such skill at the same time."

As the blood rushed to her face, it swelled her throat closed on the way, and she coughed demurely. His flattering words had the intended affect, catching her completely off guard. She didn't mind the compliment. She just had no idea how to respond to it.

So Sango said nothing, and pretended he hadn't said it at all.

"…and after I…uh…I stretch the kiss," startled pause, "I-mean-the-_skin_, the youkai skin over the bone…" she turned her back to him, mentally thwacking herself for such an embarrassing fupah.

_Idiot idiot idiot!_ She attempted to focus on something that wasn't Miroku. Her hand mindlessly caressed the partially-crafted boomerang. _Texture, texture. Focus on the texture…_ "Uhm…"

"Sango-chan," he breathed, tugging on her elbow until she faced him again. The passion in her eyes stole her breath, and she was barely able to utter his name.

"Houshi-sama?"

"Let's stop pretending," he said, taking both her hands in his.

Her heart leapt, clear up into her throat, impairing speech. "

pre…tending?"

He nodded, and his following smile made the world stop. "You. Me. Us," he inched closer. "Fate has brought us together, and destiny would keep us that way..."

Her mouth fumbled inarticulately over a stunned response, and his eyes crinkled in amusement. He lifted a hand to run his thumb along her cheek.

"Ah. I've startled you. Perhaps I should rephrase it…"

A moment later, Sango discovered how it felt to be kissed by a boy.

* * *

Their backs were facing each other, arms folded stiffly across their chests. The strained silence that followed their argument was more than Inuyasha could bear.

"Kagome."

"Eh."

"I'm tired of arguing."

"Me too."

They turned around simultaneously, and he was relieved to see a soft expression on her face. It was one of his favorite ones. With a rueful smile, she walked up to him and started plucking the debris out of his hair. He let her. It was her fault he was dirty to begin with.

Not to mention he certainly didn't mind her being that close.

He was about to forego the cleaning in order to pursue more intimate venues, when a sound in the distance made his ears twitch. The hanyou perked, his head swiveling towards the humble highway at the edge of town.

"What is it?" Kagome asked.

He concentrated. "Travelers. One wagon, I think," he paused as the delighted sounds of female laughter resounded from the bend in the road. He and Kagome waited until his predictions were verified.

One horse dragging a modest wagon behind it, with an old man steering, and three young women playing games in the back. By their obvious level of comfort, and similar features, Inuyasha pegged them for family.

He tensed, expecting the usual persecution for being part demon, but all he got was a wary glance from the father when they approached. "Good day," the man said, focusing his attention on Kagome. "We're only passing through. Tell me, is there a water source here that we may tap for our travels?"

"And a place we can bathe!" one of the girls chimed behind him, earning the agreeing chuckles of the others.

"And eat!" said the other.

Kagome smiled warmly. "Hai. There is."

Inuyasha turned to locate Sango, and saw Miroku exiting the workshop, projecting his usual monk-like humility with ease. Inuyasha snorted in disgust. _Feh. That pervert is so predictable. This'll just make his day._

Sango emerged after him. It took her a moment to assimilate the situation, and instead of walking over to greet the strangers in her village, her eyebrows drew tight in the center, and her lips parted in a look of stunned hurt. She stared at the fleeing figure of Miroku as though he'd just walked off with her heart.

Inuyasha blinked. _But she knows how he is. She's seen him flirt with every girl we've come across… _

Miroku came to a halt beside Kagome, bowed and extended the most humble, hospitable greeting he could muster. "Welcome. Tell us, good sir. What brings you," his eyes glanced discreetly to the three blushing girls in back, and then he averted his gaze respectfully down, "and such a lovely cargo to this village?"

The following conversation faded out as Inuyasha caught the monk's scent. It was his typical travel-wear smell, but this time it was mingled. With Sango's.

His jaw dropped._They kissed? _He considered the three maidens in the wagon, who currently had all of the monk's attention, and winced internally. _Idiot…_

The hanyou tossed a worried look over at the huntress. She stood with a hand over quivering lips, and even from this distance he could see the shimmer in her eyes. Miroku's womanizing usually just made her angry, but this time was understandably different. She was hurt. _Really_ hurt.

Not realizing anyone was looking, Sango turned and ran away from them. Inuyasha sighed heavily as he watched her disappear into the forest, making a mental note to knock Miroku upside the head once the strangers were taken care of, and send Kagome to talk to the girl whose heart he'd just unwittingly broken.

* * *

Sango ran blindly through the trees, dodging and ducking through the brushing foliage until she came to a small clearing and collapsed to her knees. With her hands curled in the dirt, she hung her head between trembling shoulders, and released a shuddering sob.

Miroku's taste was still on her lips, but the only visual that burned in her awareness was how that sweet mouth that had been kissing her just moments before, had turned right around to give its most attentive greeting to the nearest pretty distraction.

_'Ah, do not worry Sango-chan,' _Miroku had said, noticing her abrupt anxiety as he made to go welcome the travelers, _'YOU have my heart.'_

He'd said it. And after kissing her like that, a small part of her still dared to believe it. But she had so hoped he would be different now. That he would change…just for her.

That sick feeling in her gut worked its way up her esophagus - the abrupt anxiety at his unintentional dismissal taking the form of nausea. She cursed it, and she cursed her tears, but all the professed vehemence in the world couldn't take away the feeling of inadequacy. Of worthlessness…

_It's me,_ she thought in self despair as another set of tears rolled down her cheeks. _I'm not pretty enough to keep him monogamous. He's bound to me by our friendship, but not by love…_

"Get up."

Harsh. Irritated. Rude.

Sango startled, jerking her teary face in the direction of the voice. Intense, amber eyes stared back at her, mouth set in a straight line. His hair shadowed his serious face, and blanketed his folded arms. The signs were subtle, but she knew him by now. Sesshoumaru was unmistakably frustrated. Upset.

"Sess…Sesshoumaru…?" she stammered, momentarily shocked by his abrupt appearance. "When did you get back?"

"Who are you?" he asked roughly, his flashing eyes narrowing in a frown. "Surely not the brave and unbeatable slayer who marched by my side through the realm of the Shikon no Tama. Not the woman whose inner strength was so great, she not only conquered the ghosts of her own past, but a demon lord's as well…"

Sango was winded by the poignancy of his angry words. Had he been spying on her and Miroku somehow?

"Hn," his nostrils flared as he stepped towards her crumpled form. "You can't be her, because _she_ wouldn't be reduced to a weepy, sniveling critter from the disheartened infatuations of a wayward crush - over a womanizing monk who has no more merit to claim her heart than Naraku himself."

Her jaw dropped. Where was all this coming from? All of her negative energies were redirected at him. "How dare you! How dare you pretend to understand human emotions after you've spent a lifetime denying them!" she snapped, her hurt giving way to offense. She sat back on her heels, not even bothering to wipe the tears from her eyes. "And Miroku is nothing like Naraku. He's the first man that ever showed any interest in me as a woman. The first person to find me beautiful-"

"Idiot," Sesshoumaru berated, his elegant face briefly creasing in aggravation. "Your lack of suitors isn't because you are _un_desirable."

She blinked up at him, perplexed. How could he talk with so much confidence about something he knew nothing about? What other reason could it be? She'd spent her whole life watching other girls get all the attention, while she practiced her skill in the village's hunting fields. "Of course it is. What else-"

"Human men know when they're outmatched. Any fool with an ounce of self-awareness would recognize that mud hens do not attempt to court swans, and beggars do not aspire to marry princesses." His gaze momentarily lifted towards the direction of the village, and his expression darkened. "Then there is your precious monk, who seems to think everything female is in his league."

His words left her in a state of confused flattery, but what came out was her inevitable denial to his comment about Miroku. "Houshi-sama told me that I have his heart-"

"What good is it to have his heart, when you don't have his thoughts? His eyes?"

So logical. Rational. She couldn't argue with him, no matter how badly she wanted to. But it wasn't making her feel any less empty, or insufficient. Sango hung her head again, not enjoying this analysis one bit. "You don't understand. Just go away."

"What is there to understand?" His following pause carried the impact of a hundred scoffs. She saw his clothes ruffle in her peripheral vision as he unfolded his arms and clenched his fists at his sides. "You're not yourself around him, Sango" he said heatedly. "Timid. Insecure. Shy. It's pathetic."

His words cut straight to the core, and she glared at him in offended hurt. But instead of berating her further and scowling back, the demon lord's expression had softened. Traces of sympathy crossed his face. He surprised her further by gently catching her chin in his long fingers, tilting her head back until she was locked in his stare.

"Self-pity doesn't suit you, huntress," he said quietly, flexing his claws lightly around her jaw. "Remember who you are. Stand tall. And don't waste all your infatuations on the first man that makes you feel beautiful."

Sesshoumaru released her stunned face, and turned to go, tossing one last comment over his shoulder as he departed...

"You're worth more than that."


	9. Contentment

**Note:I pull from episode 79 here. Quick Recap - They come across a kingdom that Sango had gone to six years prior to exterminate demons. Apparently, the young prince had fallen in love with her, and when he sees her in this episode - now a king - he professes his undying love and asks her to be his wife. Naturally, she says no in the episode, using the excuse of avenging her family. So in anticipation that he caught wind Naraku was dead, I toss a little 'what if' scenario in this chapter. **

CHAPTER 9 

_Contentment_

* * *

**TWO MONTHS LATER**

"Now will ya look at that…"

Sango sat upright on the grassy slope, and leaned forward in amused intrigue. Kohaku had just given Rin a small bow and arrow, and was showing her how to work it in the practice field below. The little girl's eyes were wide with wonder, her hands unsure as she grasped the weapon.

"Hmm…" the sound was contemplative, disapproving. "There is no part of Rin's nature that is violent. She won't do well with weapons."

"Oh no?" Sango winked at the dog demon seated beside her, and nudged him with her elbow. "I seem to remember my grandmother saying something similar about me when I was a child."

His glittering, amber irises rolled to peek at her through the corners of his eyes. She smiled and brushed a chunk of opalescent hair away from his angular face and tugged playfully on his ear. "I just think you don't want your little girl to grow up."

He grunted annoyance, and jerked his head away. Sango studied him as he turned his attention towards the kids, doing his best to project bored indifference. There was a time not long ago when she would have bought the expression, too. A time when those sparkling, beautiful eyes had taken in all, yet revealed nothing.

But that was before the Shikon no Tama. Before she'd seen his soul. Before they'd become such close friends… And it was as clear as the footprints of a spider youkai that he was uncomfortable with the thought of his little Rin having a weapon in her hands.

"It'll be better for her to have some skill in such things," Sango said reassuringly. "Being domestic doesn't do one any good when they're being attacked."

"I protect her."

"When you're here."

"I'm always here."

Sango considered how seldom he'd left in the past two months. Ever since that day when he'd found her weeping over Miroku, the youkai had suddenly found less reasons to patrol his lands. She conceded with a smile. "You are," and then added more quietly, "And I'm glad."

He looked back at her, and instead of shying away from expressing her gratitude, she held his gaze and nodded her thanks. His eyes crinkled - a small acknowledgement between friends, before turning back to the field below.

_You've done wonders for my self esteem, demon_, she mused quietly. _I must not be all that bad if one as callused and solitary as you would rather stay in my company than roam your lands._

Sesshoumaru's utterance of her higher worth had given her the insight she needed to re-establish her relationship with Miroku as platonic, only. The monk had sighed, and smiled ruefully. But recognizing his unchangeable nature, he made the comment that she indeed deserved more.

But the oddest thing of all was that instead of feeling empty when he left - instead of feeling some gaping void where Miroku's place in her heart had been - she felt liberated. Confident.

And of course, Sesshoumaru had been right there to ease her back into reality, with his quiet, but steadfast presence. His constant nearness had become as natural as the feel of her new boomerang in her callused hands. Sometimes she thought that she could be happy for the rest of her life in this village, with his friendship.

Sometimes…

Then there were moments, when she lay awake at night, yearning for the family life that she knew growing up. Wanting a husband, children… In said times, she felt unbearably lonely, despite Rin's laughter, or Kohaku's smile. Despite Jaken's teaseable nagging, or Sesshoumaru's nearness.

But they were seldom. The brief thoughts on family made her consider her demon friend's true reason for wanting Rin to stay young and innocent. Knowing him like she did, it was easy to catch the underlying anxiety as he watched his adopted human child. A sore spot that hadn't quite healed.

"Do you still worry, Sesshoumaru, about losing Rin to her human lifespan?" she asked quietly.

His eyes widened marginally, obviously not prepared for such a blunt question. She could see his reflexive barriers go up, and she could see him let them back down. Over the past several weeks, he'd learned it was pointless to hide things from her. She knew him too well.

After a moment of reluctant contemplation, he answered, without taking his eyes off the field. "A…_friend_…once told me not to live for my past," he said quietly, and Sango's jaw dropped. It was the first time she'd heard him use that word. And in reference to her, no less.

"In the same spirit," he continued quietly, "it is neither wise to live in fear of the future. So with no other option, I have accepted the fact that I must enjoy the now, and live for today." He looked at her over his shoulder then, and did something that caught her completely off guard.

Sesshoumaru smiled.

Eyes creasing with warmth, the sunlight reflected off of his pretty, white teeth while the tips of his fangs rested pleasantly against his lower lip. A breathtaking expression for his stunning features - and for none other than her…

_Oh,_ Sango thought as the blood rushed to her face. _Do that again…_

It elicited such a response in her that even after he turned back to watch Rin and Kohaku, she still stared at his profile in stupefied longing. It was the first time she'd experienced a wave of spontaneous sensuality since that day with Miroku, only this time, it was unexpectedly stronger.

_Much_ stronger.

His ridiculous prettiness had always been untouchable - like the meadows in spring, or the northern mountains in winter. But masculine allure? She had found him no more desirable than she would a noble_woman_ of renowned beauty. Hadn't even occurred to her the demon lord had that kind of appeal.

Until now.

All of a sudden she noticed the strong, broad shoulders that filled out his sleeves, and the heavy arms folded in his lap… Sango tried to look away, but in the process her eyes fixed on the swell of his chest through the open 'V' of his neckline… And then the sun's heat had left him with a glistening, sweaty sheen along his collar, giving her the outrageous urge to…

_Gods…_ Sango shuddered, and forced her wide-eyed stare to the ground. She wrapped her arms around her calves and rested her chin on her knees, as though closing her body off like that might somehow hide the tempest of feelings raging inside her head. She blinked several times as the thumping of her heart became embarrassingly loud, and she became achingly aware of his close proximity. Sitting down next to her as he was, the usual heat that radiated off his body suddenly triggered all sorts of hormonal responses.

_Agh. Get a grip, Sango,_ she silently berated herself, praying that his heightened senses wouldn't catch what was happening to her. _He's your friend. Nothing more._

"Sango…"

She gasped, and her head jerked up to see him staring at her with the slightest crease in his brow.

"What is it?" he asked.

She swore under her breath. _Damn dog demon senses…_ "Nothing," she blurted out, trying to smile.

He frowned, and his eyes trickled from the top of her crown to the tips of her toes. She could almost see him going down the mental checklist of her unusual ailments. _Short, rapid breathing, flushed cheeks, trembling fingers…and a heartbeat so loud, one can barely hear his own thoughts…_ After a moment, his lips pursed in a set line, and he searched her face. "You're lying."

She coughed, and then tried to cover it up by laughing nervously. Fortunately, she was saved by concocting another lie by an excited squeal from Rin down below. Sesshoumaru's head swiveled on his neck, and he blinked astonishment. Sango followed his stare to see the little girl hopping in one place, empty bow in hand. Kohaku smiled, clearly impressed. There, impaled at the furthermost tip of the straw target was an arrow.

"Well," Sango choked, immensely grateful for the distraction. "Looks like we have a little archer on our hands."

Sesshoumaru shook his head incredulously. He decided to say nothing in his defense, which was best, considering that this just might be the beginning of Rin's knack for weaponry.

Kohaku patted her head encouragingly and then took his own chained scythe, and began to practice on the dummies lined up in the straw. Instead of putting another quiver in her bow, Rin stood by Kohaku, with her hands clasped behind her back. She was hovering so closely, that he accidentally bumped into her on a rebound.

"Stand back, Rin," he urged and roped up his chain again. She did, but barely, her wide, adoring eyes locked on the boy.

Her body finally calming down enough to focus on something else, Sango laughed, recognizing the look. "It appears Rin has developed a little crush on my brother."

A pause. "Crush," Sesshoumaru said, as though trying out the word for the first time. "Hmm… Fond of him, perhaps," he conceded, the barest hint of amusement lightening his tone.

Relieved his attention was elsewhere than her previous lack of composure, Sango continued the thread. "Who knows? They might end up courting several years from now."

He turned to her, his direct attention dropping Sango right back into twitterpated stupefaction. _This better pass,_ she thought, trying to squash out the latest pop up fantasy of how good it would feel to kiss Sesshoumaru. _There's no way he'd feel the same…_

"Sango," he said, studying her face for…_something_. "What is it like," he breathed, and then frowned, trying to rephrase words that were obviously having difficulty making it out of his mouth. "Having a…_crush…_?"

She couldn't stop the surprise from opening her face, and he turned away, clearly embarrassed by the question. But he didn't leave, which in Sesshoumaru language meant that he really wanted to know the answer.

"Uh…" _Oh, you would ask me this now, _she thought in dismay, mentally batting away another visual of them together. "It's…" _deep breath, exhale, okay,_ "When you have a crush on someone, you're _drawn_ to them. You enjoy being around them, and every gesture they make, everything they say is exciting. And as one gets older, it's…intensified…by physical attraction. Longings to be intimate…" Sango was momentarily impressed at her own on-the-spot definition of a very elusive subject, but thanks to her very acute, and _very_ abrupt sentiments towards her dear demon friend, she was quite in tune with all the nuances of a crush.

He looked pensive…almost…_afraid?_ He stared absently at his hands for a long while as an uncomfortable silence passed between them. It was her turn to be alarmed, and she rested her fingers lightly on his forearm. He flinched at her touch, and she withdrew her hand.

"Sesshoumaru-"

"Then what is it to love?" he interrupted, glancing back up with probably the most earnest expression she'd ever seen on his face. Brows lifted in the center, mouth part open, eyes penetrating...

"Love…" she breathed, bewildered by his sudden curiosity. Explaining the concept of love to a creature that had boycotted the sentiment most of his life would be about par with explaining where babies came from to a child.

Awkward.

She wanted to smack herself for not anticipating questions like these from the youkai. Of course he would have inquiries as time progressed. Aligning oneself from evil to good was neither a smooth, or simple transition. And there was so much he needed to relearn.

"You know what love is, Sesshoumaru. You love Rin, and I'm sure you love Jaken on some level. A part of you lives for them, and if you had to, you'd die for them," Sango said, drawing the silent parallel to how she felt about _him_. "It is selfless, loyal-"

"No," he interrupted her, a visible flush tingeing his cheeks. "I meant…" he paused, his discomfort with the topic making even Sango squirm.

"You mean to _be_ in love?" she asked helpfully.

He hesitated and then nodded once.

"Oh," she paused. "Well, I guess it's everything I said earlier, except that," her gut tingled with butterflies, "it is compounded," her heartbeat sped up "by all the physical longings," she wanted to touch him, "of a crush…"

_Oh crap…_ Sango jumped to her feet, barely noticing his bewildered stare as she did so. "I have to go." Leaving him there, she walked briskly into the village, her mind caught up in a whirlwind of confusion. Of discovery. Of panic. She tried to rationalize her way out of it.

_This is insane. Suddenly finding him attractive doesn't mean I'm in love him,_ she told herself, as she whisked around the corner of a building and leaned heavily against the wall. "I'm just lonely. It'll pass. It has to pass."

And if it didn't? The thought mortified her. He would never feel the same. His reluctant friendship with her didn't negate all his previous years of seeing humans as lesser creatures. Befriending one, sure. Loving one? Out of the question…

"SANGO!" A holler, from the distance.

Her head snapped up, and she squinted against the sun to see a growing dot on the outskirts of the village. A growing, _extravagant_ dot. Ornate, redwood carriage, purebred stallions, an assembly of a smart-looking guards… And there, richly dressed, and sticking his handsome head out of the window to wave frantically in her direction, was none other than…

_You've got to be kidding me. What timing…_

"Who is that?" Sesshoumaru materialized at her side, the only sign that he'd moved to get there was the soft feathery sway of his hair as it settled around his arms. Hand on his hilt, his eyes narrowed in the stranger's direction, ready to attack.

"A young king," Sango answered as she rested a light hand disarmingly on Sesshoumaru's wrist. "His name is Takeda Kuranosuke. And he's come to make me his wife."

* * *

Half a day, and a hundred propositions later, Takeda was finally gone. He'd left at dusk, but the full moon would be out tonight, giving him plenty of light by which to travel. Had it not been for that, she might have been listening to his woos all night long. As it was, the king was undeterred by her hesitance, and had left with the very same happy confidence that he'd arrived with. It made her wonder if he knew something she didn't.

Sango exhaled, and shook her head. The sun had just barely gone down and the sky was bleeding from rust to indigo. Everyone seemed to have settled for the evening, and the village was quiet. She hadn't seen Sesshoumaru since the king arrived. Once he'd assessed that Takeda meant no harm, he had left them alone. But if she knew him at all, Sango suspected he'd been hovering somewhere within hearing distance.

She walked out into the field nearby, taking comfort in the cool breeze as it whispered through the waist-high wheat stalks, pressing her clothes in fluttering folds against her body. So tranquil, here. The only home she'd ever known. Would she be able to find a similar peace in Takeda's kingdom?

She had a decision to make - perhaps the biggest one of her life. Even Sesshoumaru couldn't complain about this guy. He was wealthy, gentlemanly, and most importantly - completely crazy about her. She'd be royalty if she married him. From a logical viewpoint, it just made sense.

But why, after spending all afternoon with a handsome, charming king, did she still long for such closeness with her demon friend? Was that the source of her reservations?

If so, they were sorely misplaced. If anything, she'd be doing their friendship a favor by placing her affections elsewhere. Not a reason for saying 'yes' to the king's proposal, but certainly something to consider. As long as she could avoid ruining the purity of her relationship with Sesshoumaru with these stupid, nonsensical feelings…

He meant too much to her, now.

"When he left, he was smiling."

Sango startled and spun around. Between the breeze that tugged at his mane and clothing, and the pale blue moonlight that blanketed him in an ethereal glow, Sesshoumaru seemed not of this world. An apparition, almost. Or some god, underwater.

And for the first time in weeks, his porcelain face was unreadable to her. Perfectly masked, shadowed by his bangs, heavy lids, smooth angles…

"What?"

"When he left, he was smiling." The words were terse. Deliberate.

"He always smiles," she answered, slightly confused. "Royalty _does_ tend to have an elevated sense of self worth…"

"Did you give him cause to be so happy?" Again, no emotion. Had his mouth not moved, one could have mistaken him for a statue.

"I didn't say yes," she answered, and was it her imagination, or did his shoulders seem to relax? "But I didn't say no, either."

Quick squint of his eyes. "So you might yet marry him?"

Sango considered. That was the question, wasn't it? Perhaps if she analyzed the situation out loud, she might be able to pinpoint why she didn't want to. And Sesshoumaru had proved to be a good sounding board as of late.

She sighed heavily. "He has it all, Sesshoumaru. Status, charm, dedication. I do want a family one day, and I don't want to be alone forever. Takeda would be…a smart decision. And he really seems to care…"

Before she could expound on how, despite all that, she still couldn't see herself marrying the king for all the logic in the world, Sesshoumaru's mask dropped.

The muscles in his jaw jumped, his hands clenched into fists, his eyes flashed with anger... Hurt. "You said you'd stay here. You said this was your home."

She blinked at his abrupt change in demeanor. "I did," she said cautiously, trying desperately to read him. "But home isn't always a place, Sesshoumaru. It's people."

"Then go be with your king!" he snapped, surprising her with the amount of raw emotion in his voice. "I should have known you would leave the first chance you had."

She stared at him mutely, the light of comprehension tickling her mind. He'd gone so long without a home, without affection - that he'd forgotten things weren't so easily broken. The village. Her. They signified his emotional rebirth. They were his stability. His cornerstone. He opened his heart enough to trust her, and now he thought she was abandoning him. That had to be it…

"Sesshoumaru, I'm not writing you off-"

"I was a fool to believe all your nonsense about loyalty," his face scrunched, "and _friendship_." He turned on his heel, and strode off. Collecting herself, she trotted after.

"Will you listen to me, you impulsive, overgrown pixie doll? How would my marrying the king change things between us?"

"There would be no room in your life for both." He said without turning around.

"I'd never give up what we have, don't you understand that? No matter what happens," she caught up to him and yanked on his sleeve, "the nature of our friendship wouldn't change!"

He spun around and grabbed her wrist. "_I want it to!_"

She froze. She blinked. She shook her head, positive that something must be wrong with her hearing. "Wh-what did you just say?"

His lips moved over uncollected thoughts, his golden eyes shimmering in the moonlight. There was so much anguish in his face right then, it stole her breath. Made her eyes sting.

"Sess…houmaru?"

With a hissing curse, he flung her back. Then, without explanation or apology, the demon lord bolted. Straight through the crops.

_Dammit! _Sango lunged forward, grabbing a long chain off the field's weapon rack as she went. Without losing momentum, she swung it about her head like a morning star, homing in on the fleeing figure in front of her. Had he expected her attack, he could have avoided it with ease.

But as it were, the noise in his head was too loud for him to think clearly. Sango released her demon lasso and it looped around his legs. With a strangled growl, he fell forward, crashing down in the brushing wheat. As he twisted to get back up, Sango dove at him, tackling him backwards.

He grunted with the impact, and she straddled him. With a firm knee planted on either side of his legs, Sango curled her fists in the neckline of his shirt. Thankfully, he was too stunned to fight her…_yet_. "You can't," she paused to catch her breath, "run…away from me."

His eyes flashed, and he glared up at her incredulously. "You think you can stop me?"

She yelped as he rolled them over, pinning her under him. But she still had two good handfuls of his shirt, and when he tried to raise himself up to sprint off again, she kicked his feet out from under him and pulled him back down.

His head bounced against her temple, and the weight of his body knocked the breath from her lungs. But despite the momentary dizziness, Sango managed to snake her arms around his torso, and clasp her hands behind his back. All pretenses aside, she was well aware that this was getting delightfully ridiculous.

He flexed against her grip, and huffed against the skin of her neck. "Tenacious…little minx…"

She snorted, struggling to keep her hold. "I've…been called," pant, cough, "worse..." His hair was tickling her face, so she tried to blow it away. As a result, he got a whole earful of her pointed exhale. Sesshoumaru went rigid, and Sango blushed.

_Oops…_

He lifted his head until his face was directly above hers, his heavy-lidded stare stealing the breath from her lungs. "You are," his gaze trailed back and forth between her lips and her eyes, "_toying_ with me?"

She opened her mouth to speak, but was assaulted by his nearness. His weight. His feel. His breath on her chin. She shook her head slowly, as her heartbeat thumped wildly in her ears. "N-no…"

He quirked a brow. That look alone could have done her in. She smiled tentatively, and too anxious for the impasse, Sango found herself uncharacteristically lifting her chin and nipping at his lips.

He'd seen it coming. He must have, but the youkai still gasped at the contact, making her wonder if she'd crossed a line. She pulled back to utter red-faced apologies, but with a smirk, he followed her down, nudging her mouth in return.

"I was sure…" she swallowed, finding it increasingly difficult to concentrate as the mutual attraction between them became tangibly obvious, "you wouldn't feel the same…"

A small surprised snort was Sesshoumaru's response, giving her the impression that he might have been assuming the same thing of _her_. His eyes crinkled as he leaned down again, and paused a breath away from her lips. "You…were _wrong_."

At that, he fell on her.

The frenzied kiss that followed was wild, desperate, all-consuming… It was accessorized with a tangling of limbs, muffled whimpers, and a good helping of human and demon pheromones. Had she been any less virtuous, or he any less disciplined, then they wouldn't have made it to the small bonding ceremony the next day, performed by none other than Jaken.

As it were, Kohaku had found them the next morning in the wheat field, still dressed, but highly disheveled and curled tightly in each others' arms. After the initial embarrassment, Sango simply shrugged, and declared with a wink that she had no intention of marrying Takeda Kuranosuke.

And for the second time in the span of a day, Sesshoumaru's eyes crinkled with a smile.

* * *

**A MONTH LATER**

"Mmmm…"

Washed over in that blissful fog somewhere between slumber and consciousness, Sango stretched lazily against the demon in her bed. He was always so warm. His skin radiated heat like a rock in the sun. With her head nestled against his shoulder, and her left limbs splayed out possessively over his body, she blinked against the darkness of the hut.

Still night. But the moon's rays filtered into their sectioned-off sleeping quarters, illuminating it just enough to see _him_…

Sango lifted her chin to behold the demon she'd fallen in love with, and there he was, as awake as always, blinking back down at her with a pleasant expression of contentment on his face.

She exhaled in a weak chuckle, her voice hoarse with lethargy. "Sesshoumaru. Do you ever sleep?"

"Sometimes," his deep, baritone voice was almost a whisper.

"So you lay here," she said, tracing a finger around the corded muscles of his stomach, "all night long-"

"With you…"

"With _me_," she smiled, "wide awake?"

His eyes widened marginally, momentarily entrancing her. Those beautiful, glittering orbs that were once so cold now spoke of endless depths…emotions as close to the surface as his own blood. And she knew without any added expression in his face that he wouldn't be anywhere else in the world than with her. Just like this.

"Yes."

"Why?" she asked, testing him. A month ago, he might have gotten defensive, but Sesshoumaru's walls were coming down one by one. Around her, specifically.

He tensed, and then sighed defeat. The tips of his claws gently pressed against her lower back until she found herself warmly sandwiched between his arm and his torso.

"Why?" he repeated, for good measure, "Because it makes you happy."

That was certainly enough, Sango thought as that neat little feeling in her heart made her think that heaven would pale in comparison to being in his arms. But she was decidedly playful tonight. "How altruistic," she mused. "Selflessly dedicating so much time and affection to your poor human wife..."

He stiffened and looked down at her with a raised brow. She smiled, tugging her bottom lip in between her teeth in mock innocence. After a fairly annoyed look, he relented.

"The rest you already know, Sango," he managed, and dug his fingers into her side until it made her squirm. "It's not like I can hide it from you."

An ear-splitting smile creased her face. Oh, she knew, alright. Could see it in the way that he spoke to her, held her, and looked at her, that he loved her. So she spared him the discomfort of saying it out loud. "No, you can't hide it from me."

He relaxed. An easy silence followed as Sango slid her hand over and lightly caressed his chest. It was something she did absently, not realizing how often until he said something.

"Why do you always do that?" he asked, suddenly catching her massaging fingers in his hand and bringing them to his lips. "You're as obsessed with mine as I am with yours…"

She shuddered as he began kissing her knuckles. "Be…because," she slurred, unable to resist the urge to tease him more, "I need to reaffirm on occasion their…" _giggle_ "masculine definition…"

He tensed. "Hn?"

"Well, you're so damn pretty, I half expected to find breasts under your clothes… H-hey! Ow!"

He'd caught her fingers gently between his teeth, biting them. She tried to pull her hand back, but his grip was firm, and he nursed the little wounds he had caused with his tongue.

"You made me bleed, you blood sucker…"

"Mm hmm."

She gasped convulsively as he continued his administrations, replacing the sting by tantalizing her with the little tricks he'd learned over the past month. He finally let go of her hand, but by the time he did, she half wanted to put it right back in his mouth.

Which apparently, was precisely what he'd intended. The youkai lord met no resistance whatsoever as he rolled them over, nuzzling the curve of her neck.

"You know," she began, combing his hair back with her fingers, and turning her head to the side. "People get pregnant from this very activity…"

He paused for a half second, and then began kissing the sensitive skin behind her ear, mumbling something inarticulate that sounded suspiciously like a 'So what?'

"So our little half breed pups would probably adapt better with the influence of their hanyou uncle-"

Rumbling, impatient growl. "Sango."

"Hn?"

"Shut up."

A chuckle was lost on her lips as they proceeded to end the night the same way they'd started it. It was just another of the many manifestations to her that the demon lord had not only let himself love her, but he'd let himself love her as a _human_. Despite her short lifespan.

As they were swept away in the euphoria of their bond, Sango considered telling him about the side effect that had remained with her from being inside the Shikon no Tama. The one thing that might prove to prolong her life after all, making his fears null and void. She secretly moved her thumb along the skin of her fingers where he'd left small bites.

As anticipated, the wounds were wholly mended. Not even a scratch. And it had only been moments.

_Should I tell him?_ she thought, as her eyes rolled back into her head from his advances, her thoughts rapidly scattering.

_Hn… Maybe later._

**

_The End _

* * *

****Continued in VENGANZA**

* * *


End file.
